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"THE SOLE AND SUPREME POWER OF ORATORY IS 
DELIVERY."— Cicero. 



BROWN'S 
STANDARD ELOCUTION 

AND SPEAKER 

A THOROUGHLY PRACTICAL TREATISE 

OX THE SCIENCE AND ART OF 

HUMAN EXPRESSION 

FOR 
Schools, Colleges, Universities and Private Pupils. 



BY 

PROFESSOR I. H. BROWN 

n 

Late Instructor of Elocution, Oratory, Acting and Original Discourse in the 

University of Missouri; Superintendent City Schools, Columbia, 

Mo., and author of "Common School Elocution and 

Oratory," "Manual of Oratory," etc. 



REVISED AND ENLARGED BY 

CHARLES WALTER BROWN, A. M. 



'The Essence of Language lies in the Living Utterance/' 



CHICAGO 
LAIRD AND LEE, PUBLISHERS 



\\ X .*b 






Copyright 1911 
By WILLIAM H. LEE 



Copyright 1896 
By CHARLES WALTER BROWx? 



[ALL rights reserved.] 






©GLA286524 



PREFACE 



The purpose of the author in this book has been to pre- 
sent the science of human expression in a manner so simple, 
so concise and so reasonable that no student with average 
zeal and ability would experience difficulty in comprehending 
and applying its principles. 

While an effort has been made to render the exposition 
free from many of the technical and professional theories 
found in other works, every principle announced and enforced 
has been drawn from nature by the most scientific researches 
recognized by the foremost teachers and writers of Europe and 
America. 

The prominence given to the subject of respiration is justi- 
fied in the recognition of its three-fold relation to elocution. 
First, energy and ease of expression are largely dependent upon 
a proper control of the respiratory organs; second, the cor- 
rect training of these organs in early life and their judicious 
exercise at all times, conduce to greater vigor of mind and 
body than is otherwise possible; and third, the natural sys- 
tem of breathing during vocalization, reinforced by the teach- 
ings of science, has been found an almost absolute protection 
against all forms of lung and throat diseases. 

The skillful use of Slides, Waves and Pauses, and the in- 
telligent application of emphasis being so essential to intelligible 
and impressive reading and speaking, much space has been 
devoted to these subjects. 

Recognizing the justice of much that has been said against 

3 



4 PREFACE 

the modern tendency of popular reciters and declaimers to 
run into the stilted, unnatural and offensively affected, thus 
bringing the Study of Elocution into disrepute, the author has 
insisted upon reality, intelligence and genuine human sym- 
pathy as the basis of all delivery. 

The author hereby acknowledges his sincere thanks to the 
many writers and publishers who have kindly permitted the 
use of their excellent selections for this book. 

Chicago, February, 191 1. 



CONTENTS 



GENERAL OUTLINE. 



Page Page 

Elocution 11 Requirements of Good Elocution ... 12 

Its Purpose and Value 11 Benefits of Elocution 12 

How Acquired 11 Who Should Study Elocution 13 

READING. 

Its Importance 13 The Reader's Position 15 

The Two Kinds of 14 Outline of Reading Work Id 

Requisites for Each Kind 14 Test of Results 16 

RESPIRATION. 

Definition 16 Methods of Breathing 18 

Processes 16 Respiratory of Exercises 20 

Importance 16 Miscellaneous Exercises 22 

GESTURE. 

Definition 23 Direction of Movement 33 

Kinds of Gesture 24 Mode of Gesture 35 

Requisites of Gesture 24 Exercise in Physical Expression 35 

The Walk 24 Exercises in Gesture 42 

The Bow 25 Facial Expression 44 

Attitudes 27 Exercises in Facial Expression. .... .45 

The Four Positions 27 General Hints Upon Gesture 49 

PRONUNCIATION. 

Definitions and Principles 51 General Exercises 57 

Articulation 52 Common Errors 63 

The Elementary Sounds 54 English Words 65 

Exercises in Articulation 55 Foreign Words and Names 69 

Table of Elementary Sounds 56 Proper Nouns and Derivatives 70 

Difficult Combinations 57 

VOICE AND SPEECH CULTURE. 

Definitions and Principles 71 Voice Preservation 73 

V 



VI 



CONTENTS 



MODULATION. 



Page 

Definition 74 

IVI ode of Utterance 74 

Slides — Classification 77 

Principles and Illustrations 78 

Waves — Classification 82 

Law of Use 83 

Pauses — Their Uses 87 

Principles and Exercises 80 

Quantity 92 

Emphasis 94 

General Laws 95 

Miscellaneous Exercises 97 

Slur — Exercises 98 

Quality of Voice 100 

Pure Tone 101 

Orotund Ill 

Plaintive 118 

Pectoral 120 

Guttural 122 

Aspirate 125 

Nasal 127 

Falsetto 131 

Force 135 

Divisions of Force 186 

Subdued Force 137 

Moderate Force 139 

Full Force 141 



Page 

Sustained Force 143 

Stress 145 

Division of Stress 140 

Radical Stress 140 

Median Stress 149 

Final Stress 152 

Compound Stress 154 

Thorough Stress 157 

Intermittent Stress 159 

Pitch 162 

Divisions of Pitch 163 

Middle Pitch 164 

High Pitch 166 

Low Pitch 169 

M ovement 171 

Definitions and Principles 171 

Classes of Movement 171 

Moderate Movement 172 

Slow Movement 173 

Rapid Movement 176 

Melody 177 

Definitions and Principles 177 

Miscellaneous Vocal Exercises 179 

Sound Words 179 

Personation 180 

Medley Drill * 180 



ORIGINAL DISCOURSE. 



Importance 184 

Extemporaneous Speech 184 

Conversations 185 

Public Speaking 185 



Rules for Public Speaking 187 

General Requisites 187 

Speaking from Notes 189 

Method of Criticism 190 



READINGS AND RECITALS 



Ambition of a Statesman Henry Clay . 

An American Exile Isaac Hinton Brown . 

An Evangel Francois Coppee . 

Appeal in Behalf of Ireland S. S. Prentiss. 

Apostrophe to the English Language. .. .George Bancroft. 
Apostrophe to the Ocean Lord Byron . 

Beautiful Things Ella P. Allerton . 

Becalmed . 

Bewitched Clock, The . 

Brutus, on the Death of Ccesar William Shakespeare. 

Catiline's Defiance George Croly . 

Country Justice, The . 

Custer's Last Charge Frederick Whittaker. 



Tage 

, 197 

, 193 

. 260 

. 143 

. 158 

. 113 

. 220 

. 226 

. 128 

. 265 

. 152 
. 132 
. 268 



David's Lament for Absalom . . . . N. P. Willis .... 121 

Deacon Stokes Thomas Quilp.... 243 

Deacon's Story, The N. S. Emerson.... 235 

Death of Little Paul Charles Dickens.... 108 

Death of the Wife . ... 174 

Der Shtubborn Mool Isaac Hinton Brown .... 249 

Don't Be Tazin' Me Wade Whipple.... 259 

Dying Boy, The Mrs. Sigourney .... 160 

Evening at the Farm J. T. Trowbridge. . . . 266 

Flag of the Rainbow Thomas Dunn English.... 267 

vii 



Vlll 



READINGS AND RECITALS. 



Ghost That Jim Saw, The Bret Harte 

Girl of the Period, A 

Give Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother Miss Edwards 

God's Beautiful City B. F. Taylor 

Gladiator, The 

Happy Young Girl, A Eugene J. Hall 

Harvest of Rum, The Paul Denton 

How a Frenchman Entertained John Bull 

Impeachment of Warren Hastings Edmund Burke 

Kit Carson's Wife — : 

Lasca F. Desprez 

Last Charge of Ney, The J. T. Headley 

Legend of St. Christopher Miss Muloch 

Liberty or Death Patrick Henry 

Long Ago, The B. F. Taylor 

Love Triumphant 

Macbeth's Vision William Shakespeare 

Man's a Man for a' That Charles Mackay 

Man Who Apologized 

Marmion and Douglas Sir Walter Scott 

"Maud Muller" (Dialect) 

Medley Drill 

Memory James A. Garfield 

Music of the Human Voice, The William Russell 

Nathan Hale, The Martyr Spy Isaac Hinton Brown 

National Banner, The Edward Everett 

"O, Bairnies, Cuddle Doon" 

Over the Hill from the Poorhouse Will Carleton 

Our Ain Countrie Ella Guernsey 

Pawnbroker's Shop, The Richard E. White 

Piano Music 

Prayer and Potatoes Rev. J. T. Pettee 

Pronunciation Test 



Page 

. 238 

. 247 

. 119 

. 105 

. 139 

. 106 

. 251 

. 261 

. 240 

. 254 

. 209 

. 233 

. 208 

. 166 

. 169 

. 257 

. 126 

. 245 

. 218 

. 115 

. 214 

. 180 

. 137 

. 165 

. 270 

. 114 

. 212 

. 202 

. 250 

. 253 

. 176 

221 

. 61 



READINGS AND RECITALS 



IX 



Railway Matinee, A R. J. Burdette 

Revolutionary Rising, The Thomas Buchanan Read 

Rienzi's Address to the Romans. .. .Mary Russell Mitford 

"Rock of Ages" 

Rum's Devastation and Destiny William Sullivan 

Shylock's Reply William Shakespeare 

Sockery Kadacut's Kat 

Soldier Tramp, The Don Santiago Carlino 

South During the Revolution, The.. Robert Young Hayne 
Spartacus to the Roman Envoys in Etruria. . Epes Sargent 

Speech in Vindication Robert Emmet 

Stand by the Flag Joseph Holt 

Tact and Talent 

Those Evening Bells Thomas Moore 

Three Cherry Stones, The 

To-Day Carpenter 

Two Boot-Blacks, The 

Worth of Eloquence 

Which One? Isaac Hinton Brown 



Page 

. 215 

. 147 

. 141 

. 200 

. 205 

. 124 

. 257 

. 223 

. 263 

. 155 

. 230 

. 198 

. 172 

. 178 

. 102 

. 107 

. 60 

. 98 

. 151 



Synopsis of Brown's Elocution 



By PROFESSOR I. H. BROWN 

/ f Normal. 



O 

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P3 
O 

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2 
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I. Respiration 



/'Abdominal 
I Chest 
I Dorsal 

J Costal 

\ Waist 
I Effusive 
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II. Articulation 




III. Vocal JX?!5? Culture 

Ex P ression j Preservation 



IV. Action. 



r Position 
J Movements 
• ) Gesture 
( Facial Expression 



( Emphasis 
Grouping . . . •< Pauses 

( Sentiments 



I 



VI. 



Original 
Discourse 



The Six Parts 
Conversation 
Extemporaneous 
Speech 



Quality 



(Pure Tone 
' 1 Orotund 



^Plaintive 
Pectoral 



lAWmal guttural 



Force 



Stress , 



Nasal 
..Falsetto 

Subdued 
Moderate 
Full 
Sustained 



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Median 
Final 

Compound 
Thorough 
Intermit- 

V. tent 



Pitch 



(Concrete 
1 Discrete . 



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Low 



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"Quality 



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Rapid 
Slow 



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Long 
Short 



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• 1 Downward 



Waves 

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Slur 



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Emphasise , 



Pauses 



( Moderate 
. < Long 
( Short 



Cadence 
Climax 
VAnti-Climax 



Reading and Elocution 



GENERAL OUTLINE. 

Elocution is the art of conveying thought, sentiment and 
emotion in the most natural and effective manner. 

Its Purpose. — The complete mastery of its principles en- 
ables the speaker not only to express his thoughts clearly and 
easily, but to so vivify and illuminate those thoughts that his 
hearers see, hear, and feel the unquestioned truth of his state- 
ments. 

Correct elocutionary training has for its further object the 
complete subordination of the physical being to the service of 
the mind and spirit; thought being the product of the inner 
spiritual man, and speech and gesture its natural outlet through 
the exterior, or physical man. 

Its Value. — Its study and systematic practice, based upon 
principle of nature, make the voice clear, strong, flexible and 
melodious, and gives to the body and limbs a pliancy, vigor 
and harmony of motion that render the position and action of 
the speaker or reader at once graceful, natural and impressive. 

How Acquired. — The greatest excellence in Elocution is 
attained by study, practice, observation and criticism. The 
student should master the principles by study, and at once test 
their application by practice. He should closely observe the 
expression of reputed good readers and speakers — noting the 
points of excellence and deficiency which characterize their 

11 



12 brown's standard elocution 

delivery ; he should frequently submit his own exercises to the 
criticism of friends and teachers, and make notes of these criti- 
cisms that they may not again be needed. But one thing must 
be kept constantly in mind: No amount of instruction and 
criticism will compensate for a meager drill. The highest ex- 
cellence in reading or speaking requires the same conditions 
as music, painting and poetry — Practice, Practice, Practice. 

REQUIREMENTS OF GOOD ELOCUTION. 

1. A full and free respiration. 

2. A correct pronunciation. 

3. A correct and distinct articulation. 

4. A thorough knowledge and perfect control of all the ele- 

ments of vocal expression. 

5. Complete control of every muscle of the face, hands, feet 

and body. 

6. A thorough understanding and appreciation of the 

thought to be expressed. 

7. Perfect self-possession before an audience. 



1 
2 

3 
4 

5 
6, 

7 
8 

9 
10 

11 



THE BENEFITS OF ELOCUTION. 

It cultivates the taste and judgment. 
It cultivates the entire physical system. 
It quickens perception and apprehension. 
It imparts grace of movement and attitude. 
It develops a strong will and self-possession. 
It strengthens the conception and imagination. 
It strengthens the lungs and respiratory muscles. 
It develops vigor of mind and buoyancy of spirit. 
It gives to the voice purity, power and flexibility. 
It protects from bronchial and pulmonary afflictions. 
It prepares the student for the successful prosecution of 
business in every phase of life. 



AND SPEAKER 13 

WHO SHOULD STUDY ELOCUTION. 

All general students. 

Every student of law. 

Those preparing for general business. 

All who are preparing for the ministry. 

The Public Lecturer, Reader or Speaker. 

The instructor in whatever art or science. 

Persons with defective speech or unpleasant voice. 

Persons afflicted with lung and bronchial troubles, huski- 

ness and chronic hoarseness. 
All who would move through life with the least possible 

friction and attain the greatest success. 



READING. 



i. Reading is the most important branch taught in our 
schools. It is the key to nearly all the other subjects with 
which the student and future citizen has to deal. His success 
in mastering the concomitant branches, and, indeed, nearly 
every art and science, depends upon the skill he secures at an 
early age in interpreting, assimilating and retaining the 
thoughts of others, as presented upon the written or printed 
page. 

2. The ability to apprehend the wit, the pun, the hidden 
wisdom beneath the author's words, to grasp the central 
thought,, to group the lights and shades which modify or orna- 
ment the worded picture, with the quickness of intuition, must 
all be acquired in early life. 

3. But to scan the printed page in silence and note in 
mental concepts the author's woven thoughts is not all there is 
of reading; nor can the skill by which the thoughts are grasped 



14 brown's standard elocution 

be attained by silent reading alone. Months and years must be 
given to the vocal utterances of written sentences, under the 
guidance of skillful teachers, before the child can adapt the 
written words to his untrained comprehension. Silent and 
audible reading are mutually dependent ; the highest excellence 
in either is acquired largely through the practice of the other. 

THE TWO KINDS OF READING. 

All reading may be classed as silent or intellectual, and 
audible or oral. The purpose of the former is the apprehen- 
sion of the thought — of the latter, the expression of the 
thought. As an art, reading includes the interpretation and ex- 
pression of the thought, sentiment and emotion, as presented 
in written or printed composition. 

REQUISITES FOR READING. 

Certain requisites for good reading should be considered, 
and, as far as possible, pupils should be trained in securing 
these in our elementary schools. Some of these are innate, but 
all may be cultivated to such a degree as to make intelligent and 
intelligible readers of ninety-five per cent of all. 



REQUISITES FOR AUDIBLE READING. 

Imitative power. 
Expressive action. 
Command of voice. 
Distinct articulation. 
Respiratory command. 
Correct personal habits. 
All required for silent reading. 



REQUISITES FOR SILENT READING. 

i. A clear conception. 
2. A quick perception. 



AND SPEAKER 15 

3. Human sympathy. 

4. A vivid imagination. 

5. A keen discernment. 

6. An interest in affairs. 

7. Good taste and judgment. 

THE READER'S POSITION. 

Book in the left hand, thumb and little finger in front, 
first, second and third fingers at the back of the book; the 
elbow not touching the side. The book should be held in such 
a manner that a line drawn from the eyes toward the page 
would intersect the plane of the book at right angles. The 
full face of the pupil should be seen by the teacher. The 
weight of the body should be supported, while reading, on both 
feet, the left heel two or three inches in advance of the hollow 
of the right foot. The chest should be elevated and expanded, 
the position erect and easy. 

OUTLINE OF READING WORK. 

i. Give constant attention to pupils' manners, movements, 
attitudes, breathing, tones and speech. 

2. Devote five minutes daily to concert phonic drill, and 
critical pronunciation, reviewing the words placed under pro- 
nunciation. 

3. Require synonyms and derivation of words in each 
lesson, previously marked. 

4. Have all members of the class commit and properly 
recite compositions of acknowledged merit. 

5. Require explanation of historical, biographical, geo- 
graphical, scientific and literary allusions in the text or lessons. 
All such allusions should be previously designated, that the 
pupils may have definite knowledge of what is required. 

6. Require an oral abstract of lessons before the exercise 



16 brown's standard elocution 

of reading is called. These synopses must be in the pupils' 
best language. 

7. To secure the greatest benefit from silent reading, turn 
to some lesson with which pupils are not familiar, permit them 
to sketch it hastily — say two minutes to a page — then collect 
all books and require a written abstract prepared in the shortest 
time possible. The pupils within a specified time exchange 
slates or papers and read each other's composition. 

8. The lesson should be read with such precision and ac- 
curacy as to render the use of a text book in the hands of the 
teacher unnecessary. 

9. Discuss the style of thought, literary beauty, and 
rhetorical peculiarity of every selection before leaving it. 

10. Require pupils to learn all they can of every author 
whose productions they read. 

11. Do not attempt to complete a long selection in one 
lesson. Few selections in this book can be profitably passed in 
less than three days. 

TESTS OF RESULTS. 

The average pupil, having fully prepared a reading lesson, 
should read it with such naturalness and impressiveness as to 
hold the attention of hearers and inspire them with the most 
pleasurable emotions. 

RESPIRATION. 

1. Respiration, or breathing, is the act of taking air 
into the lungs and expelling it from them. 

2. As an art, respiration involves three processes whose 
mastery by the student is of paramount importance : Inspira- 
tion, Expiration and Management. 

3. Few persons realize how great is the influence of res- 
piration upon the growing life of a human being. Notwith- 
standing the teachings of our text-books and the warnings of 



AND SPEAKER 



17 



popular writers and lecturers, many parents and even teachers 
remain indifferent to the pernicious habits of breathing ac- 
quired by children during school life. 

4. Vigor of mind and body is de- 
pendent so largely upon a copious supply 
of pure air inhaled with reference to time 
and manner, that no system of education 
can be carried out successfully unless 
provision is made for the most complete 
respiration of the lungs. 

5. It is a fact well established in 
pathology that functional derangements 
originating in colds, attack the weakest 
organs of the body. The properly trained 
singer and speaker are rarely hoarse. 
Exemption from lung and throat troubles 
among professional orators and singers 
is due to the skillful use of every organ 
involved in respiration, speech, and song. 
The public speaker or singer who excuses 
his performance by confessing hoarse- 
ness thereby acknowledges his ignorance 
and violation of one of nature's simplest 
law r s. 

6. If the teacher or student be disposed to ignore the 
hygienic value of correct breathing, he is reminded that the 
highest form of human 'utterance, whether aspirated or vocal- 
ized in speech, or intonated in measured harmony, is based 
upon the most intelligent command and use of the respiratory 
apparatus. The stuttering, gasping, incoherent, flighty, jerky, 
or impetuous speech, one sometimes hears from a novice in 
the art of public speaking or singing, is not traceable alone to 
inexperience, but, in most cases, to nervous embarrassment 
caused by imperfect respiration. 




RESPIRATION 



18 brown's standard elocution 

7. It may be further stated that a larger part of the train- 
ing course prescribed for orators and singers in professional 
schools is devoted to securing command over the breath in 
speech and song; and that the heart-reaching, soul-stirring 
rendition of those sublime passages which have in ages past 
moved the stoic to action and the sage to tears, can be re- 
produced only, after all other conditions are present, by that 
perfect adaptation of breath to the molding of words that live, 
and burn, and glow — melting the heart to tears, filling the ear 
with rapture, and illuminating the soul with celestial light, 
until the very air seems filled with seraphic melodies of intelli- 
gences divine. 

8. Every muscle of the waist, chest, ribs, axilla, back and 
loins, must be brought into action, and trained by intelligent 
and persistent practice to perform its function. It will take 
several months — even years, with older students, to accustom 
all the muscles to act automatically and effectively. The mind 
must superintend the effort — must constantly realize the im- 
portance of the exercise. The expense of time and attention 
will pay. It will pay in an increased brilliancy of intellect, hap- 
piness of temper, and buoyancy of spirit. It is the deep, full, 
vigorous breathers that possess the most vigorous hearts, minds 
and bodies, 

METHODS OF BREATHING. 

While the ordinary methods of breathing are sufficient for 
the individual of vigorous outdoor pursuits, they are not suf- 
ficient for the scholar and man of thought engaged in sedentary 
pursuits. With these the stimulus generated by bodily action 
is wanting to induce the deep inspirations peculiar to the active 
man of outdoor life. The thinker in his study, the artist at 
his easel, the artisan at his table, and the pupil at his desk, re- 
quire a constant reinforcement of mental energy. Much more 
than any of these does the orator demand the recuperative 



AND SIM ;.\ KICK 19 

agency of a perfect respiration. This requirement can be filled 
only by the inhalation of an abundance of the vitalizing oxygen 
contained in pure air ; and art must be called in to supply prop- 
erly and distribute the regenerative fluid. 

MOUTH VERSUS NOSTRIL BREATHING. 

The following considerations will suggest the propriety of 
always inhaling through the nostrils : 

i. The small circuitous passages, with many obstructions, 
through which inhaled air must pass before reaching the deli- 
cate lung cells, temper it to the normal heat of the body. Air 
swalloi^ed at the zero temperature enters the lungs many 
degrees colder than the body, and scarcely fails to produce seri- 
ous inflammation. 

2. The speaker or singer who incautiously swallow r s air 
during the exercise of his voice will soon discover a dryness in 
the mouth, larynx and trachea which will render the tone harsh, 
hard and husky — annoying to himself and unpleasant to his 
auditors. The continued moisture of these organs is an essen- 
tial condition of purity of tone. 

3. The continuous swallowing of air during vigorous 
speech parches the throat and inflames the membranes and liga- 
ments of the voice and speech organs. If the practice is re- 
peated for a few days in succession it results in what is styled 
"clergyman's sore throat. " 

4. The air at all times is filled with myriads of motes, 
whose introduction into the delicate lung tissues produces un- 
pleasant irritation. Added to these, science has demonstrated 
that, under certain atmospheric conditions, countless germs of 
disease are floating in the air. These the mouth-breather re- 
ceives to be carried at once to the lungs and there impart 
their poison to the blood. The nasal cilia and sieve-like proc- 
esses which line the nasal cavities arrest the ingress of these 
life-destroying agents. 



20 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



5. To the above may be added the fact that the constant 
practice of breathing through the nostrils tends to enlarge the 
nasal passages. This enlargement assists the articulation and 
adds purity and melody to the tones of the voice. 

RESPIRATORY EXERCISES FOR PRACTICE. 

I. Abdominal Breathing. — Stand passively erect, hands 
and arms hanging loosely at the sides, weight supported equally 
on both limbs. Close the lips and inhale 
quietly and slowly through the nostrils, filling 
the region about the waist until your capacity 
is reached. Quietly exhale through the mouth 
or nostrils as long as possible. Repeat five 
times. 

2. Chest Breathing. — Repeat the above 
exercise with the hands clasped behind the 
head. 

Note. — If dizziness ensue, discontinue for 
a few minutes. After a few weeks this diffi- 
culty will not return. 

Caution. — Do not catch the breath sud- 
denly through the mouth while exercising. 
During the earlier exercises draw the air 
through the nostrils very slowly. Permit no 
air to enter the mouth at any time. God 
breathed the breath of life into man's nostrils, 
not into his mouth. 

3. Abdominal and Chest Combined. — 
Fill the region about the waist as in No. 1, 

then without exhaling, gradually force the enlargement upward 
until the chest reaches its full expansion. Repeat five times. 
Reverse the process. 

4. Effusive Exhalation. — Inhale as in No. 1. Exhale in 
the least audible whisper the sound of "ah" prolonged for 




ABDOMINAL 
BREATHING 



AND SPEAKER 21 

thirty seconds. Continue this exercise daily until the sound can 
be prolonged fifty seconds. 
Vocalize "ah" effusively. 

Inhale as in Xo. i. Exhale evenly and in a pure tone the 
sound of long "e" prolonged for ten seconds. Continue this 
daily until a clear, musical sound can be continuously produced 
for thirty seconds. 

Xote. — The longer a speaker can hold his breath the more 
effective will be his delivery of those long and involved sen- 
tences whose full force and meaning seems to depend upon 
an uninterrupted effusion and melodious sound. 

5. Expulsive Exhalation. — Inhale as before. Expel the 
air in the whispered sound of "h" by a vigorous upward and 
inward action of the abdominal muscles. Inhale again, and re- 
peat this exercise ten times without taking breath. 

Inhale ; count clearly and distinctly in one breath to forty, 
to fifty, to sixty. 

Inhale ; repeat the letters of the alphabet distinctly in a 
single breath five times, six times. 

6. Explosive Exhalation. — Inhale fully, then expel the 
air in an explosive whispered utterance of the syllable "huh." 
The effort must be sudden and exhaust the breath as nearly as 
possible. 

Inhale ; vocalize with the utmost explosiveness tie syllable 
"huh." 

Inhale ; laugh explosively in one breath the syllables ha, ha, 
ha, repeating as many times as possible. When done, shut the 
mouth instantly and inhale slowly through the nostrils. 

7. Active Chest. — Inhale abdominally; force the en- 
largement upward, as in No. 3. This is the active chest. It 
gives the elastic step and energy of speech and action which 
distinguishes the vigor of eloquence from the languor of in- 
difference. 



22 brown's standard elocution 

miscellaneous exercises in respiration. 

1. Repeat expulsively in clear tones, in rapid succession, 
the vowels a, e, 1, 6, u, as many times as you can. In addi- 
tion to the respiratory benefit accruing from the exercises it 
gives command of the radical stress, an accomplishment of 
great importance to the speaker. 

2. Inhale deeply; count in distinct tones to thirty, forty, 
fifty. Stop the moment the least aspiration is observed. 

3. Take a full breath; repeat distinctly the letters of the 
alphabet as many times in one breath as possible. 

4. Read in one breath the first paragraph of 'The Two 
Boot-blacks, " page 58. Afterward read in one breath the 
first and second paragraphs. Every word must be intelligibly 
uttered. 

5. Before any public performance, when convenient, go 
to an open window and with hands placed on window frame 
inhale and exhale vigorously a dozen or more times. The ex- 
ercise imparts a healthful stimulation, allays excitement, and 
gives to the speaker a wonderful reserve force and self-pos- 
session. 

6. To aerate more thoroughly the lungs, exhale all the 
air you can and then with the heels of the hands press, by a 
working motion, the chest, ribs, and sides, under the arm-pits 
until all the air seems to be driven out. Close the lips and in- 
hale deeply, evenly and slowly. 

NOTES. 

1. Under no circumstances should the act of breathing be 
permitted to interfere with vocalization. By proper training 
and exercise, inhalation can be so managed as rarely to be no- 
ticed. 

2. In the act of inhalation through the nostrils, avoid the 



AND SPEAKER 23 

unbecoming habit of sniffing so noisily as to attract attention. 
True art conceals art. 

3. Acquire the habit of inhaling slowly. The acquisition 
of this power brings with it, to a great degree, the control of 
the breath. 

4. While inhalation is to be effected mainly through the 
nostrils and imperceptibly, it is understood the acts of sighing, 
gasping, coughing, sneezing, loud laughter, sobbing, and pant- 
ing, sometimes accompanying dramatic action, are exceptions. 

5. No breath should be wasted. Use only so much as may 
be necessary to form the word. Too little renders the sound 
inaudible ; too much exhausts the speaker and mars the beauty 
of utterance. 

6. All breath employed in speaking, except in the aspirate 
quality, should be vocalized. 

7. Do not wait until the lungs are exhausted to take 
breath. The practice is injurious. Take breath as often as op- 
portunity will permit. 

8. To secure the greatest benefits from respiratory exer- 
cises all artificial pressure must be removed from the throat, 
neck, chest and waist. 



GESTURE. 



Gesture includes all positions and motions of the head, 
face and limbs, employed to enforce or illustrate an idea, emo- 
tion, or passion. 

Its Importance. — Gesture is the visible language of the 
inner life. It portrays to the eye the workings of the mind, the 
affections of the heart, and the varying passions and emotions 
of the soul. It is as intelligible to the savage as to the most en- 
lightened. Entire plays are presented in pantomime and are 
understood by observers as well as by the players themselves. 



24 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



It gives to the eye what the ear often fails to receive, and thus 
attracts and holds the attention much more effectually than 
do words alone. 

He who would successfully appeal to all the senses of his 
audience — hold the eye, the heart, the soul; summon the ap- 
proving smile, the sympathetic tear, the rapturous applause; 
sway, the multitudes, lull them into complacency, or move them 
to immediate action — must cultivate and skillfully employ this 
universal language of nature. 

Kinds of Gesture. — All gestures may be classed as Em- 
phatic, Illustrative, and Locative, 

Emphatic Gesture intensifies assertions by the application 
of greater force to emphatic words; as, "I will force him to 
the deed." 

Illustrative Gesture shows the 
manner, means, degree, appearance, or ef- 
fect ; as, "Ye gods, withhold your wrath." 
Locative Gesture designates the 
position, direction, or place; as, "Look 
not in the past for hope." 

Requisites of Gesture. — The req- 
uisites of gesture are Grace, Variety, 
Simplicity, Boldness, Energy, Precision 
and Propriety. These must be in har- 
mony with the accompanying oral ex- 
pression. 

Initial Movements. — The entrance 
or first appearance of the speaker before 
his audience is a critical moment. Im- 
pressions are then made which often 
afifect his entire subsequent performance. 
The Walk. — The walk is the mirror 
of character. Through it the artist reads 
the very thoughts the performer would 




AND SPEAKER 



25 



conceal ; and though we can change our walk only as we change 
the temperament that walk portrays, we can by practice secure 
a style of motion that will occasion no unfavorable comment. 
Directions. — Stand erect; summon the most animated 
thoughts; assume active chest (described under Respiration) ; 
imagine yourself drawn forward by a force acting about the 
waist; preserve a perfect poise, the head well balanced, the chin 
neither projected nor retracted. 





the bow 



THE RETIRING LOW 



Lift the thigh forward, the lower leg and foot hanging 
loosely, and straighten the knee, as the foot is planted, as nearly 
flat as the high heel will permit. Follow with the other limb 
in the same manner, observing that the chest is full, the unseen 
power acts at the waist and the knee straightens as the foot 
strikes the floor. 

The Bow.— Standing in the first position (see Positions), 




HUMILITY. COMPASSION 



REVERENCE. ADORATION 



A XI) SPEAKER 



27 



after a momentary look into the eyes of the audience, bring the 
right foot back so as to assume second position, bend the body 
and head slightly and directly forward. In the retiring bow, as 
the body bends forward bring the right toe to the heel of the 
left foot, the right knee bent and pressed firmly against the back 
of left knee. Step to the left with the left foot and retire. 

Attitudes. — The disposition of the entire figure, when at 
rest is important, and should receive careful attention. Every 
posture assumed by the speaker is significant, These should 
be easy, graceful and flexible, but, above all, they must be in 
harmony with the prevailing sentiment. 

Head, Body, Hands and Feet, — Stand erect, chest full, 
head evenly poised, the arms hanging easily at the sides, or one 
arm at the waist; weight at first supported mainly on both feet, 
one of which should be 
^\) a little in advance of the 

other. Keep knees well 
stiffened, and be pre- 
pared to make changes 
naturally and gracefully. 

the four positions. 

I. Unemotional — 
First Position. — Sup- 
port the weight of the 
body mainly on the left 
foot. Advance the right 
foot obliquely at an an- 
gle of eighty degrees, 
and in such a position 
that the right heel is 
from two to four inches 
in front of the hollow of 
the left foot.. 





unemotional- 
first POSITION 



UNEMOTIONAL 

SECOND POSITION 



28 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



Second Position. — Support the weight of the body mainly 
on the right foot. Advance the left foot obliquely at an angle 
of eighty degrees, and in such a position that the left heel is 
from two to four inches in front of the hollow of the right 
foot. 

II. Emotional — Third Position. — From either the first 
or second position move the right foot obliquely forward a short 





EMOTIONAL THIRD POSITION EMOTIONAL FOURTH POSITION 

step, the feet remaining at the same angle. Support the body 
on the right foot and turn the left so that the feet form an ob- 
tuse angle; raise the left heel slightly, and balance the body, 
which is thrown a little forward, with the inside ball of the left 
foot. 

Fourth Position. — From either the first or second position 
move the left foot obliquely forward a short step, the feet re- 




HORROR 



AGED WALK 



30 brown's standard elocution 

maining at the same angle. Support the body on the left foot 
and turn the right so that the feet form an obtuse angle; raise 
the right heel slightly and balance the body, which is thrown 
a little forward, with the inside ball of the right foot. 

Changes of Position. — In the delivery of unemotional 
thought there should be few changes, and all movements should 
be performed within a limited space. In the expression of 
emotional thought and heated passion, changes of position, and 
greater freedom of movement are permissible; yet even here, 
the speaker must confine himself within the bounds of 
propriety. The impetuous, headlong, and boisterous plunges 
up and down the platform suggest not strength and vigorous 
emotion under the control of a powerful reserve force, but 
weakness, and instability. Never more until the occasion im- 
pels you to do so, and you will not go far astray. 

Position of the Head. — The head is presumed to guide 
the motions of the body, and should be so held as to command 
the respect of an audience. Its various positions foreshadow 
the thought before it is expressed. An erect position of the 
head suggests confidence, dignity and honor ; thrown back, 
humor, pride or vanity; inclined forward, humility and grief; 
inclined aside, languor; while a tossing motion implies con- 
tempt and anger. 

POSITION OF THE HANDS. 

1. The various positions assumed by the hands are highly 
significant, and should be thoughtfully studied. 

2. In repose the hands should be a model of grace; the 
forefinger should be gently extended, the thumb extended and 
nearly parallel with the first finger, the second finger slightly 
curved, the third finger curved more than the second, and the 
fourth, or little finger, forming a semi-circle. Study the at- 
titudes of statuary and adapt your positions to those models 
that are regarded as specimens of the highest art. 



AND SPEAKER 



31 




REPOSE 




SUPINE 




PRONE 




VERTICAL 




CLINCHED 



POINTING 





CLASPED 



FOLDED 



POSITIONS OF THE HANDS 



32 



BROWN'S STANDARD ELOCUTION 





CROSSED 



ENUMERATING 




CONDEMNING 




GRASPING 




SUPPLICATION 




ARGUING 




SPARING 
POSITIONS OF THE HANDS 



AND SPEAKER 33 

3. The hand is said to be supine when open, fingers re- 
laxed and palm upward, indicating entreaty, appeal, light joy- 
ous emotions and general description. 

4. It is prone when open, fingers extended and palm down- 
ward ; used in denial, degradation, and concealment. 

5. It is vertical when open, fingers extended the palm out- 
ward ; used in repelling, disgust, abhorrence, warding off and 
defining a limit. 

6. It is clenched when tightly closed; used in anger, defi- 
ance and threatening. 

7. It is pointing when loosely closed, forefinger and thumb 
uppermost and extended; used in pointing and designating. 

8. It is clasped, applied, folded, crossed, enumerating, 
touching, when used in description and designation. 

DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT. 

Before attempting any of the following exercises in gesture 
with the hands, the pupil should become familiar with the vari- 
ous terms used in indicating direction and the significance of 
such direction. 

1. Front. — Indicating personality, directness, futurity, 
unity. Gestures made directly before the body are termed 
"front." 

2. Extended. — Indicating vastness in space, time, quan- 
tity, or idea. Gestures made directly from the speaker's side 
are termed "extended." 

3. Oblique. — Indicating a general idea or assertion, in- 
definiteness. Gestures made between the "front'' and "ex- 
tended" are called "oblique." 

4. Backward.— Expressive of remoteness of time or 
space. Gestures back of the extended are called "backward." 

5. Descending. — Expressing determination or empliasis. 
Gestures made below the horizontal line of the chest are called 
"descending." 



34 brown's standard elocution 

6. Horizontal. — Pertaining to the intellect. Gestures 
made by extending the hand and arm in a line horizontal to the 
chest (whether front, oblique, or the side, or backward) are 
called "horizontal." 

7. Ascending. — Alluding to the ideal or imaginative. 
Gestures made above the horizontal are termed "ascending." 

8. Ictus of Gesture. — The ictus of gesture is applied 
to the accented syllable of the word with which it is used. 

Both Hands, — are often used, making the same motions, 
to give greater breadth of thought, broader expanse, and more 
intensity of motion. 

Arm Motions. — To secure facility and grace of gesture, a 
short preliminary exercise, employing both arms simultane- 
ously, is of great advantage. Every exercise in gesture should 
be preceded by several whole-arm movement combinations, the 
nature of which will be suggested after the following descrip- 
tion of an exercise the author has used most advantageously 
with students : 

directions for arm movement. 

Take the first position, Active chest. Let the arms and 
hands hang naturally, the little fingers just touching the sides. 
Raise both the arms, bringing the hands toward each other in 
front, near the body and slightly turning them so that the fore- 
fingers just touch by the time the hands meet at the waist ; 
continue raising the hands, fingers relaxed and slightly curved, 
palms gradually turning inward, until the chin is reached, when 
the fingers gradually extend. From this point the hands sepa- 
rate, the whole arms sweep through a graceful curve downward 
and downward through the horizontal, oblique and extended 
directions; the palms at first upward, gradually turn inward, 
then downward, when the arms curve and the hands are 
brought again together at the waist, as when raised from the 



AND SPEAKER 



35 



sides in the initial motion. This movement is to he repeated 
many times until familiar, and then others which will be of 
great service in imparting ease and grace to gesture can be 
developed from it. 



MODE OF GESTURE. 

i. The grace of gesture is expressed in the compound 
curve, sometimes called "Hogarth's line of beauty. " The 
motion of the arm originates in the shoulder, is then trans- 
mitted to the arm, and forearm, whence the hand and the fing- 
ers receive the impulse and both gradually curving as the arm 
is raised until the chest (on the side opposite the arm em- 
ployed) is reached, when the arm, hands and fingers unbend 
and reach their full extension at the ictus. 

2. The curve of arm gesture, expressive of pleasing, 
tranquil and serious thought, and employed in narration, de- 
scription and argument, is beautifully illustrated in the varied 
motions that may be described with a flexible willow-twig. 

3. The direction of motion in the gesture of violent pas- 
sion and uncontrollable excitement, whether occasioned by 

anger, fright or joy, is best illustrated 
in the angular flash of the falling 
thunderbolt. 

4. From these illustrations the 
learner will readily infer the char- 
acter of gesture required when he has 
determined the sentiment contained 
in the composition. 

EXERCISES IN PHYSICAL EXPRESSION. 

With Head and Face Indicate : 

Attention: Lean the head for- 
ward with fixed gaze. 

Assent: Nod rapidly forward. 




36 brown's standard elocution 

Dissent: Toss head backward and sway from side to side. 

Diffidence or Languor: Incline the head to either side. 

Horror: Avert the face to either side. 

Courage: Hold the head erect. 

Offended: Head slightly turned and firm. 

Mirth, Goodnature: Easy natural attitude. 

Shame, Humility or Grief: Drop the head forward. 

Pride, Arrogance: Throw the head back. 

Avoid all useless nodding, shaking and tossing of the head. 




HORROR 

With the Arms Indicate : 

Calm Repose: Let the arms hang naturally and gracefully. 

Weakness: Let the arms hang listlessly. 

Self-importance: Fold the arms across the chest. 

Entreaty: Hold the arms and hands forward, palms supine. 

Invocation: Raise the arms forward, hands supine. 

Terror: Throw the arms backward, elbows bent. 

Avoid every arm movement not in harmony with the senti- 
ment your are expressing. 

Secrecy or Silence: Place the forefinger on the lips. 

Shame or Sorrozv: Place the hands upon the eyes. 




CONFIDENCE, 
DIGNITY, HONOR 




HUMOR 




LANGUOR, DIFFIDENCE PRIDE 

POSITIONS OF THE HEAD 



88 brown's standard elocution 

Joy or Pleasure: Clasp the hands on left breast. 

Anguish: Wring the hands, moving upward and down- 
ward. 

Appeal to Conscience: Place the right hand over the heart. 

Threatening:' Clinch and shake the hand. 

Mental Pain or Distress: Place the open hand on the 
head. 

Meekness: Cross the hands on the breast. 

Triumph: Wave the right hand over the head. 

Invitation: Extend the hands supine toward the object. 

Avoid unnecessary motions of the hands at variance with 
prevailing sentiment. 
By Various Attitudes of the Body Indicate: 

Repose, Courage, Joy: Hold the body flexibly erect. 

Pride, Haughtiness: Throw the shoulders stiffly back. 

Humility or Compassion: Stoop slightly forward. 

Reverence, Adoration: Bend the body well forward. 

Indignation: Straighten to full height. 

Aversion: Withdraw from the object to either side. 

Horrow: Shrink inwardly from the cause. 

Avoid all unnecessary contortions of the body and shrug- 
ging of the shoulders, as well as that unpliable rigidity one sees 
in the awkward orator. 

By Means of the Lower Limbs Indicate : 

Confidence, Self -Possession: Stand flexibly erect on both 
feet . 

Self -Conceit, Obstinacy: Stand rigidly erect on both feet. 

Timidity, Awkzmrdness: First or second position, ad- 
vanced knee bent more than rear knee. 

Physical Weakness: Feet parallel and a foot or more apart, 
knees bent. 

Terror, Horror: Let the entire limbs tremble. 

Earnest Appeal: Take third or fourth position 




HORROR 




MODESTY, SHYNESS 





OFFENDED 




HUMILITY, GRIEF 




MIRTH, GOOD NATURE 



THOUGHTFUL 



40 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 





CONFIDENCE, 
SELF-POSSESSION 



OBSTINACY, 

CONCEIT 





TIMIDITY, 
AWKWARDNESS 



PHYSICAL WEAKNESS 



AND SPEAKER 



41 





TERROR, HORROR 



EARNEST APPEAL 




DISGUST 



POMPOSITY 



42 brown's standard elocution 

Disgust. Assume third or fourth position, then throw 
weight on rear foot. 

Pomposity: Feet well apart, weight on both feet 
Avoid the frequent shifting of weight from one limb to the 
other. Such actions betray awkwardness and mental disturb- 
ance. 

EXERCISE IN GESTURE. 

Explanations of Abbreviations: 

( D. F. Descending Front. ( D. E. Descending Extended. 

-} H. F. Horizontal Front. J H. E. Horizontal Extended. 
I A. F. Ascending Front. ( A. E. Ascending Extended. 

D. O. Descending Oblique. f D. B. Descending Backward, 
H. O. Horizontal Oblique. 1 H. B. Horizontal Backward. 
A. O. Ascending Oblique. [ A. B. Ascending Backward. 

Note. — The ictus is applied to the italicized words. 

I. RIGHT HAND SUPINE. 

D. F. Upon this action I insist. 

H. F. I freely grant all that you demand. 

A. F. I appeal to the great Searcher of hearts. 

D. O. Of all mistakes none are so fatal as these. 

H. O. Truth, honor, justice were his motives. 

A. O. Fix your eyes on the prize above this life. 

D. E. Away with your tempting bribes. 

H. E. The gentle breezes wafted incense on the air. 

A. E. Hail flag of the free ! Sweet emblem of hope. 

D. B. Let us put such schemes behind us. 

H. B. Search the records of the remotest an-fr'-quity. 

A. B. Then rang the shout of freedom. 



AM) SPEAKER 43 

II. RIGHT HAND PRONE. 

D. F. Put down the unworthy feeling. 

H. F. Restrain the unhallowed propensity. 

D. O. Let every one re-press such sentiments. 

H. O. I charge you to re-strain such dispositions ! 

A. O. Ye gods, with-hold your vengeance ! 

D. E. He'll smooth the turf for your last pillow. 

H. E. Adversity dimmed his brightest pros-pects. 

A. E. So darkly glooms yon thunder cloud. 

III. RIGHT HAND VERTICAL. 

H. F. Back to thy punishment, false fugitive ! 

A. F. For-bid it, Almighty God ! 

H. O. A friend would w T ard off the blow. 

A. O. Oh for-bid it, Heavens ! 

H. E. Out of my sight, thou base defamer ! 

H. B. False wizard, avaunt! 

IV. BOTH HANDS SUPINE. 

D. F. All resentment he &e-pos-\te& on the altar. 

H. F. Listen, I im-plore you, to his cry for mercy. 

A. F. Hail! universal Lord! 

D. O. All these he sur-mz-dered to the common good. 

H. O. Welcome! friends, to our peaceful shore. 

A.O. Hail! holy Light! 

D. E. I utterly re-nounce his proffered aid. 

H. E. He delves in the wide z-byss of possibility. 

A. E. Freedom to the race ! 

V. BOTH HANDS PRONE. 

D. F. Lie light-ly on him, earth. 

H. F. May the blessings of Heaven rest on thee. 



44 brown's standard elocution 

A. F. Blessed be Thy name, O Lord Most High ! 

D. O. We are as but worms of the dust! 

H. O. Deep stillness fell on all around. 

A. O. The Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast. 

D. E. Here let the tumults of passion cease. 

H. E. Spread wide around the heavenly calm. 

A. E. Sorrow mantles the whole earth. 

VI. BOTH HANDS VERTICAL. 

H. F. Hence I horrible shadow! 

A. F. Avert, O God, the terrible calamity. 

H. O. Burst are the prison bars. 

A. O. Angels and ministers of grace, de-fend us. 

H. E. Night's gathering fears, dis-perse! 

A. E. Melt and dis-pel, ye specter doubts. 

FACIAL EXPRESSION. 

Facial Expression is the adaptation of the countenance to 
the sentiment to be expressed. 

i. Of the face Quintilian has said: "The face is the 
dominant power of expression. With this we supplicate; with 
this we threaten; with this we soothe; with this we mourn; 
with this we rejoice; with this we triumph; with this we make 
our submissions ; upon this the audience hang ; upon this they 
keep theii eyes fixed; this they examine and study even before 
a word is spoken." 

2. The effect of the vocal delivery is so much heightened 
by a sympathetic expression of the face, that the student of 
elocution, whether preparing for the rostrum, bar, or pulpit, 
should on no account neglect this important aid to his delivery. 

3. While much preliminary training in this department 
of expression is necessary, in its application the student must 
first feel the sentiment to be uttered, then the appropriate facial 



AND SPEAKER 45 

expression will follow. Beware of useless facial contortions; 
they are not only inappropriate, they are disfiguring and re- 
pulsive. 

EXPRESSION OF THE EYES. 

i. The eye is the most expressive of all the features. It 
is here the mysterious workings of the mind are imaged forth 
in unmistakable language before the tongue moves in obedience 
to the will. 

2. From it the soul looks forth and communes with kind- 
red spirits. The expectant child reads in its mother's eye the 
answer to its wish. The stricken heart, unable to bear its 
burden, sends forth its mute appeals for human sympathy 
through eyes that tell the inward sorrow. 

3. But while philosophers and poets have combined in 
praise of the wondrous beauty, variety, and expressiveness of 
the eye, it has, to the orator, peculiar interest which he cannot 
ignore. It is not simply a means of expression, but to the 
speaker it is an instrument of control second to no other agency 
of oratorical power. The speaker who looks directly into 
the eyes of his audience holds them beyond their power of 
escape. Every person present feels the magnetic influence of 
the speaker and fancies himself the particular person addressed. 

4. The failure to use this wonderful power explains why 
so many desultory speakers and manuscript readers do not 
secure attention and move their audiences to thought and ac- 
tion. If you must use a manuscript, acquire the habit of look- 
ing away from it at times and into the eyes of your hearers. 

EXERCISES IN FACIAL EXPRESSION. 

By Means of the Eyes Indicate: 

Courage, Determination: Look straight forward. 
Joy, Hope, Delight: Raise the eyes slightly upward. 



46 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 




JOY 




SHAME, MODESTY 
AND HUMILITY 




MADNESS 




RAGE 



DESPAIR 



LAUGHING 




SUPPLICATION 



„ 1U 




ANGER 



SUDDEN ANGER 





FLIRT 



CONSTERNATION 



AND SPEAKER 47 

Shame, Modesty, Humility: Look downward. 
Disgust, Aversion: Turn the eyes to either side. 
Madness: A steady glare, seeing nothing. 
Sudden Anger: Let the eyes flash. 
Consternation: Open the eyes wide with a fixed stare. 
Rage: Roll the eyes well open. 
Despair: A vacant stare. 
Laughing: Eyes partially closed. 
Supplication: Eyes elevated. 
Flirt: To the side with a twinkle. 

Avoid meaningless winkings and any unnatural use of the 
eyes. 

Bv Means of the Brow Indicate : 



REPOSE AMAZEMENT 

DESP^ 

V 

ANGER PAIN 



Pain: Elevated and arched. 
Joy, Terror, Amazement: Elevate the brows. 
Fear, Despair, Grief: Depress the brows. 
Anger, Rage: Knit the brows firmly. 
Tranquil Repose: Let the brows be natural. 
Avoid the frequent elevation of the brows when not in- 
dicated by the sentiment. 

With the Mouth Indicate : 

Tranquillity: Close the lips lightly. 



48 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



Joy, Delight: Let the lips be drawn back and slightly- 
raised. 

Scorn, Contempt: Curl the lips slightly upward. 

Disgust: Curl the lips downward. 

Firmness, Decision: Compress the lips. 

Weakness, Indecision: Relax the lips. 

Wonder, Desire: Part the lips slightly. 

Silliness, Imbecility: Open the lips languidly, tongue 
protruding. 

Approval, Pleasure: Let the lips smile freely. 




TRANQUILITY 




JOY 




WEAKNESS 




WONDER 



FIRMNESS 



<^L^-«U&-^j 



SCORN 



t^^X 



DISGUST 




PLEASURE 



On account of the softness of the parts about the mouth no 
feature is so liable to assume the deformities of bad habits as 
the lips. Avoid all unbecoming contortions, as sneering, pout- 



AND SPEAKEB 49 

tng, twitching, and protrusion of the lips. Avoid evil indul- 
:es in thought, word, and deed. All these leave their traces 
m the mobile lips, and mar alike the features and delivery. 

With the Nostrils Indicate: 

Courage, Anger: Expand the nostrils freely. 
Surprise, Admiration: Open the nostrils moderately. 
Disgust, Contempt: Draw the nostrils upward. 
Fear, Terror, Horror: Let the nostrils dilate and quiver. 
Pain: Contract the nostrils. 

GENERAL HINTS UPON GESTURE. 

1. "Suit the action to the word; the word to the action; 
with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty 
of Nature." 

2. Be definite and decided in your action. Decision of 
gesture is more important than grace ; combine the two. 

3. In shifting from one foot to the other avoid dropping 
one hip or shoulder. 

4. Though appropriate gesture is pleasing to the eye and 
greatly assists the hearer in comprehending the thought, the 
pupil is reminded that too little gesture is better than a continu- 
ous, or even frequent, sawing of the air. 

5. During the action of gesture the arm should be kept 
moving all the time — rarely stationary for a single instant. 

6. When reading, attempt no gesture unless you can look 
from your book and preclude the gesture with your eyes. 

7. The ictus of the gesture should be on the emphatic 
word, and the hand performing the gesture should return to the 
side or proceed with another gesture. 

8. Keep your face either full or three quarters full toward 
your audience, unless personation should require it otherwise. 

9. In personating two characters have one speak to the 



60 brown's standard elocution 

right, the other to the left. Explanations require a full face to 
the audience. 

10. In gesture, use curved lines in all cases except those 
portraying sudden and impassioned Emotions. 

ii. As a general rule in single gesture, use the right arm, 
with the right foot advanced in preference to the left. The left, 
however, is often conveniently used in the mimicry of awkward 
characters. 

12. Do not permit the love of dress display to mar the 
effect of your delivery by making you ridiculous. Taste in 
dress is little less important than appropriate language and de- 
livery. 

13. Let your changes in gesture accord with the language. 
The more rapid the thought and violent the emotion, the more 
sudden the transitions. Calm, dignified and reflective thought 
requires slow, measured, graceful changes. 

14. When the change of thought requires a change of 
position, make such change while speaking, not before, nor 
after ; that is, move as you enter upon the new thought. 

15. Gesture should not accompany the description of the 
act, but the act itself; as, "But Douglas round him drew his 
cloak/' etc., receives no gesture ; wait till the words accompany- 
ing the action are spoken. 

16. Observe the attitudes and gestures of great orators. 



AND SPEAKER 51 

PRONUNCIATION 



Pronunciation from pro. forth, and nuncio, I announce, 
is the act of vocal and articulate utterance of words 
according to prevailing usage. 

1. The pronunciation of the English language is not 
uniform in time or place. The usage of the twentieth cen- 
tury is not that of the last century. The general style of 
the bustling metropolis differs from the leisurely uttered 
words of the field and hamlet. . So, too, the followers of 
certain occupations manifest their calling by peculiarities 
of accent and enunciation. The stress and tones of the 
sea-faring man vary in a marked degree from those of the 
camp and court. Again, the usage of the mountains is 
not that of the plains and valleys ; and the contrast 
between the articulation and accent one hears on the 
coasts and in the interior is equally marked. 

2. Changes in pronunciation, due to changes in man- 
ner of living, social and political conditions, advance of 
commerce and caprice of fashion are constantly going 
on — in some sections more rapidly than others. While 
some communities, influenced by the busy activities 
around them, accept almost every new style of utter- 
ance, others, more isolated, and, therefore, more tena- 
cious of early acquirements, resist all innovations, and 
cling to those familiar sounds to which they have been 
accustomed. Thus differences in pronunciation originate 
and continue in the same country. 

3. Notwithstanding these differences in local usage 
there is a standard of pronunciation to which all critical 
scholars conform, which in this work is clearly indicated 
by a simple uniform system of markings and phonetic 
respellings — each sound being noted by but one dis- 
tinctive mark. 



i 



52 BROWN'S STANDARD ELOCUTION 

4. The "Principles of Pronunciation" contained in these 
works should be carefully studied by all who aspire to accuracy 
in spoken English. A mispronounced word or even a pronun- 
ciation unusually authorized, coming from the pulpit, stage, 
or rostrum, distracts the hearer's attention, mars the beauty 
of diction, and compromises the speaker's culture in the. estima- 
tion of his audience even more than the absence of an eloquent 
delivery. 

5. Pronunciation comprises articulation, syllabication, and 
accent. A skillful articulation is acquired by first securing the 
correct sounds of the vocal elements, and then, by persistent 
practice, making them so familiar to the tongue and ear that 
every combination, however difficult, can be sounded instantly 
and correctly. 

ARTICULATION. 

Articulation is the process of forming and combining the 
elementary sounds of language. 

1. The importance of this subject entitles it to rank second 
only to respiration as a requisite to the greatest excellence in 
the art of elocution. Without this element, cultivated to the 
highest perfection, all other elements of vocal culture fail to 
form the accomplished reader and speaker. 

2. Not by the English speaking orator alone, is articula- 
tion deemed of great importance. French and German teach- 
ers and statesmen give much attention to the subject. Says 
Legouve : 

"Articulation and articulation alone, gives clearness, en- 
ergy, passion and force. Such is its power that it can even 
overcome deficiency of voice in the presence of a large audi- 
ence. There have been actors of the foremost rank who had 
scarcely any voice. Potier had no voice. Monvel, the famous 
Monvel, not only had no voice, he had no teeth ! and yet no 
one ever lost a word that fell from his lips; and never was 



AND SPEAKER 53 

there a more delightful, more moving artist than he, thanks to 
his perfect articulation." 

3. That articulation shall secure the greatest benefit to the 
speaker two conditions must be observed: 

First. It must be correct. 
Second. It must be distinct. 

4. The first of these implies that the student shall acquaint 
himself with the powers and applications of all the elementary 
constituents of the language, in order that he may know the ex- 
act element required for each oral combination. The second 
condition demands that he shall so completely master the vocal 
utterance of every element that no mistake can possibly arise as 
to what particular sound is uttered. 

5. Correctness of articulation is acquired by frequent 
reference to standard dictionaries, supplemented by immediate 
and intelligent practice. Here it should be observed that a dis- 
tinct articulation without being correct is like legible writing 
containing many misspelled words ; while it is easily heard, the 
literary deficiencies of the speaker are made only more ap- 
parent. 

6. Distinctness of articulation is secured, fifst, by frequent 
practice upon the exercises prepared for drill, and afterward by 
constant attention to every word and sentence uttered, until 
the habit of correct and decided articulation is fixed beyond the 
necessity of attention. Faulty articulation often arises from an 
inability to control the speech organs. The remedy is daily 
practice upon the elementary sounds and syllables. 

7. As to what constitutes a "just articulation," nothing 
better can be said than the oft-quoted words of Austin: 

"The words are not hurried over, nor precipitated syllable 
over syllable; nor, as it were, melted together into a mass of 
confusion ; they are neither abridged nor prolonged ; nor 
swallowed, nor forced, and, if I may so express myself, shot 
from the mouth ; they are not trailed nor drawled, nor let slip 



54 brown's standard elocution 

out carelessly, so as to drop unfinished. They are delivered 
out from the lips as beautiful coins, newly issued from the mint, 
deeply and accurately impressed, perfectly finished, neatly 
struck by the proper organs, distinct, shafp, in due succession, 
and of due weight." 

8. As the impassioned style of oratory peculiar to the old 
Greeks and Romans is giving way to the more intellectual and 
argumentative form of delivery, teachers of the present are 
giving more attention to ease and precision of speech than did 
their predecessors. Upon this point, Professor Russell says : 

"The appropriate style of modern eloquence is that of in- 
tellectual, more than of impassioned expression; and enun- 
ciation being of all the functions of the voice, that which is most 
important to the conveyance of thought and meaning, it justly 
requires, in the course of education, more attention and prac- 
tice than any other branch of elocution." 

THE ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 

An elementary sound is a simple vocal element uttered by 
a single impulse of the voice and speech organs. 

i. The English Language contains forty-five elementary 
sounds classified as follows: twenty Vocals, or Tonics, sixteen 
Siibvocals, or Subtonics and ten Aspirates, or Atonies. 

2. Vocals, or Tonics, consist of pure tone modified by 
the speech organs ; as, a, e, oi. 

3. Subvocals, or Subtonics, consist of tone and breath 
combined, modified by the speech organs ; as, b, j, ng. 

4. Aspirates, or Atonics, are mere emissions of articu- 
lated breath; as, /, s, eh. 

5. Cognate Sounds are those formed by the speech 
organs in a similar position ; as, b and p, d and t. 

6. The student who aspires to accuracy of speech should 
make himself thoroughly familiar with the sounds and dia- 
critical marks in the following analysis of letters. 



AND SPEAKER 55 

EXERCISES IN ARTICULATION. 

1. The purpose of the following tables is to secure for 
students correct and distinct articulation, forcible enunciation 
and an accurate pronunciation. 

2. The first and second accomplishments may be acquired 
in large classes fully as well as in small ones. Indeed, it has 
been observed that with timid pupils the concert drill of large 
numbers is the only effective means of securing that energetic 
enunciation which contributes so largely to successful vocal 
culture. 

3. Regarding the importance of the exercises the student 
may rest assured that to whatever extent he may carry his study 
and practice in the so-called "embellishments" of elocution, as 
quality, force, stress, pitch, etc., his skill in these will avail 
him little if his articulation and pronunciation be defective. It 
is not enough that the sounds be appropriate and pleasing, and 
that the pitch, force and stress be in harmony with the senti- 
ment; the sounds must be accurate, must express the sense, 
and above all, must be understood by the hearers. 

4. In the exercises in articulation proceed as follows : 
Inhale deeply ; first pronounce the word distinctly and ac- 
curately, utter each sound element in its order with energetic 
force and exaggerated distinctness. 

$, A part of each exercise should be devoted to idiisper- 
ing the phonic spelling. This may be done by selecting ten or 
more words for drill, and after vocally uttering the sounds, 
repeat the same in a forceful whisper. 

6. A portion of every exercise in elocution, should include 
a few minutes drill in articulation and enunciation. They can 
not receive too much attention. 

7. Stand erect, the eyes front, the chin slightly dropped, 
the chest full, the shoulders firm and your mind upon what you 
are doing. 



56 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



TABLE OF ELEMENTARY SOUNDS. 



Vocals. 



a=o in ate; e in prey; ai in aim i 

&=a in at, fan, map, ham, attack' 6= 

a=a in fare ; ai iu air ; e in there o= 

a=a in arm, ah, father, alms, palm 6= 

a=a in ask, dance, grass, last, clasp. o= 
a=a in amend, America, sofa, fortvard 

a=a in all, awe, war ; o in orb, storm u= 

e=e in me, mete ; ie in shield ; i in pique u— 

e=e in e/&, error ; ie in friend; a in any ii— 

e=e iu her, verge ; i in bird ; y in myrtle oi= 

I =t in mite ; y in my / ie in height ow 



£ in mt"£, mi7J, mi«s ; y in Aywm 
o in go ; oa in coal ; eau in tableau 
o in no£, comma ; a in ?£Gs, w/ia£ 
o in move ; oo in food ; u in rude 
oimvolf; oo in book; u in full ; 

ou in would 
u in use, fame ; ew in 7m# ; ieiy in view 
u in ^urry ; oo in Mood ; ou in £ouc# 
7i in burn furl ; o in worm, world 
-oi in ot£, voice ; oy in joy, cyster 
—ow in aw J, taww ; ou in found 



SUBVOCALS. 



b=5 in bun, bay, Bible, bib 

d=d in did, dog, dine, dad 

g=a in gay, gone, gag, gig. 

j — j in jet, judge ; g in aem, engine 

1 = 1 in tead, £Sfy, ea«e^, couple, lull 

m=m in mad, men, mane, muse, mum 

n=n in nice, none, fern, run, money 

ng=ng in sing; nk in bank, ink 



r=r in rt7J, oral, form, for, ferry 
th=th in the, thine thus, father, bathe 
y=v in van, vivid, move, lives, wolves 
w=w in ivax, wit, homeward, waves 
y=y in yet, vineyard ; ia in poniard 
z=z in zone, maze ; s in his, those 
zh=zi in grazier, seizure ; si in fusion 



Aspirates. 



i=f in ./to, /am« ,* gh in Jaw^A ; 

pft in graphic 
h=h in ^ad, house; wh in whose, who 
hw=whin when, why, wharf, whence 
k=# in kite; c in ca£, # ch in chorus 
p=p in ptay, cup, Aarp, speed, oppose 



s=s in send, message ; c in cite, ct£y 
t=j in tin, tot, stay, act, attend 
ch— ch in cAtX church; te in righteous 
sh=sh in shine, flash; ch in chaise 
th=th in Mfo, thrive, width, length 



Drill Exercises on Elementary Sounds. 



1. Pronounce the word distinctly, then sound the marked element with 
exaggerated distinctness, thus, ate ... a ; at ... a. Reverse the order. 

2. Repeat the list of sounds in order with the key words immediately follow- 
ing: thus, a as in ate, a as in as, etc. 

3. Write, in order, the elementary sounds with proper mark and key word. 
[The word in the first column is the key word.] 

4. Pronounce the Vocals, first with a downward slide, then with an upward 
slide. Pronounce in a distinct whisper. 



AND SPEAKER 57 

EXERCISES IN DIFFICULT COMBINATIONS. 

Indistinct and faulty articulation frequently results from an 
imperfect command of the brain over the muscles involved in 
speech ; hence, one of the greatest benefits to be derived from 
the persistent practice upon difficult combinations is to estab- 
lish that intimate connection between the mental powers and 
the physical organs which will permit no uncertain utterance. 

Let the student acquire the power of concentrating his at- 
tention upon what he is saying, and the difficulties of articula- 
tion will speedily disappear. 

PRONOUNCE WITH GREAT DISTINCTNESS. 

1. baffl'd'st, bloom'd'st, balk'd'st, breath'd'st, troubl'd'st. 

2. bundl'd'st, bridl'd'st, bloom'd'st, bask'st, grumbl'd'st. 

3. circl'st, curl'st, charm'd'st, clasp'd'st, crimson'd'st. 

4. dragg'd'st, dazzl'd'st, wid'n'd'st, thick'n'd'st, hard'n'- 

d'st. 

5. fondl'st, trifl'd'st, muffl'd'st, stifl'd'st, fold'st. 

6. grabbl'st, mangl'd'st, wiggl'd'st, struggl'd'st, dragg'd'st. 

7. heark'n'd'st, help'd'st, harp'd'st, hearths, handl'd'st. 

8. lik'd'st, laugh'st, lengths, launch'd'st, less'n'd'st, lists. 

9. mingl'd'st, milk'd'st, muzzl'd'st, minister'd'st, mind'st. 

10. prob'd'st, prompt'd'st, peopl'd'st, preserv'd'st, puzzl'- 

d'st. 

11. rav'l'd'st, risk'd'st, reason'd'st, rattl'd'st, harp'd'st. 

12. soften'd'st, ' sparkl'd'st, swamp'd'st, sharpen'd'st, 

smooth'st. 

13. twelfth, triumph'd'st, trampl'd'st, tattl'd'st, twing'd'st. 

14. wak'n'd'st, whelm'd'st, warmths, whistl'd'st, wiggl'd'st. 

GENERAL EXERCISES IX ARTICULATION. 

Note. — Repeat sentence once slowly and distinctly, then 



58 brown's standard elocution 

repeat five times with great rapidity and distinctness. Afte* - 
ward repeat in a distinct whisper. 

i. She sups sheep soup. 

2. A shot-silk sash shop. 

3. I saw snow softly snowing. 

4. Socks and shoes shock Susan. 

5. Five wise wives weaves withered withes. 

6. Don't run along the wrong lane. 

7. The hosts still stands in strangest plight. 

8. Let lovely lilacs line Lee's lonely lane. 

9. She was sitting sewing snug and warm. 

10. I snuff shop-snuff; do you snuff shop-snuff? 

11. She sells sea-shells; do you sell sea-shells? 

12. He built an ice-house near his own nice house. 

13. Some shun sunshine; do you shun sunshine? 

14. The sun shines smilingly on the shop-signs. 

15. Two totally tired toads tried to trot to Toadsbury. 

16. The old, cold, scold sold a school coal-scuttle. 

17. He sawed six long, slim, sleek, slender saplings. 

18. She says she shall sew a sheet. 

19. Charles Smith's Thucydides. 

20. The peevish, feeble freeman feebly fought for free- 

dom. 

21. A rural ruler, truly rural. 

22. The glassy glaciers gleamed in glowing light. 

2^. Whelpy Whelvell White was a whimsical, whining, 
whispering, whittling whistler. 

24. A big black bug bit a big black bear. 

25. Beneath the booth I found baths, cloths, laths, moths, 

sheaths, paths and wreaths. 

26. I said "literary, literally, literarily," not "literarily, 

literary, literally." 

27. I said "a knap-sack/' not "a knap sack's strap." 



AND SPEAKER 59 

28. Gibcon Gordon Grelglow, the great Greek grammarian, 

graduated at Grilgrove Gollege. 

29. The laurel crowned clown crouched cowering into the 

cupboard. 

30. Sheba Sherman Shelly sharpened his shears and 

sheared his sheep. 

31. Shrewd Simon Short sewed shoes. 

32. Success to the successful thistle-sifter. 

33. See that thou in sifting a sieve full of unsifted 

thistles, thrust not three thousand thistles through 
the thick of thy thumb. 

34. Thou prub'st my rack'd and weary ribs. 

35. Eight great gray geese grazing gaily into Greece. 

36. With a shriek she shrank before the shrine. 

$y. Hear the shrill shriek of the screaming shrapnel. 

38. Amidst the mists with angry boasts, 
He thrusts his fists against the posts, 
And still insists he sees the ghosts. 

39. He drew long, legible lines along the lovely landscape. 

40. Did you ever see a saw saw a saw as that saw saws a 

saw ? 

41. Round the rough and rugged rocks the ragged rascal 

ran. 

42. She uttered a sharp, shrill shriek and then shrank from 

the shriveled form that slumbered in the shroud. 

43. Prithee, blithe youth, do not mouth your words when 

you wreathe your face with smiles. 

44. Strange Sam should slight such splendid summer 

sales. 

45. Thou turnedst, graspedst, countedst, rushedst forth 

and disappearedst. 

46. Truly rural, truly rural rationalist. 

47. Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to 

you, trippingly on the tongue. 



60 brown's standard elocution 



48 



49 
50 
5i 

52 
53 
54 
55 

56, 

57 



The grass grows green above her grave. 



Vile villains vent their vengeance vyingly. 

Learned lads like long lessons. 

Mournfully they marched to the martial music. 

Napoleon's noble nature knew no niggardly notions. 

Soldiers, sailors, seamen, all were lost. 

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. 

Of all the saws I ever saw, I never saw a saw saw as 
that saw saws. 

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 

Sober Stephen sold sugar, starch, spices, saddles, 
stirrups, screws, silks, satins, shawls and skates. 
Read the following correctly (in review) in one breath: 
Theophilus Thistle, the' successful thistle-sifter, in sifting 
a sieve full of unsifted thistles, thrust three thousand thistles 
through the thick of his thumb. Now, if Theophilus Thistle, 
the successful thistle-sifter, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted 
thistles, thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his 
thumb, see that thou, in sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistles, 
thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy 
thumb. Success to the successful thistle-sifter. 



Note. — Read the following correctly, at first in seventy 
seconds, — in sixty seconds, — in review in fifty seconds. It has 
been read intelligibly in thirty-six seconds. Read the first 
paragraph in one breath, then read the first and second para- 
graph in one breath. Read in a whisper occasionally by way 
of variation — an admirable exercise : 

The Two Boot-Blacks. 

1. A day or two ago, during a lull in business, two little 
boot-blacks, one white and one black, were standing at the cor- 
ner doing nothing, when the white boot-black agreed to black 



AND SPEAKER 61 

the black boot-black's boots. The black boot-black was of 
course willing to have his boots blacked by his fellow boot- 
black, and the boot-black who had agreed to black the black 
boot-black's boots went to work. 

2. When the boot-black had blacked one of the black boot- 
black's boots, till it shone in a manner that would make any 
boot-black proud, this boot-black who had agreed to black the 
black boot-black's boots refused to black the other boot of the 
black boot-black until the black boot-black, who had consented 
to have the white boot-black black his boots, should add five 
cents to the amount the white boot-black had made blacking 
other men's boots. This the boot-black whose boot had been 
blacked refused to do, saying it was good enough for a black 
boot-black to have one boot blacked, and he didn't care whether 
the boot that the boot-black hadn't blacked was blacked or not. 

3. This made the boot-black who had blacked the black 
boot-black's boot as angry as a boot-black often gets, and he 
vented his black wrath by spitting upon the blacked boot of 
the black boot-black. This roused the latent passions of the 
black boot-black, and he proceeded to boot the white boot- 
black with the boot which the white boot-black had blacked. 
A fight ensued, in which the white boot-black who had re- 
fused to black the unblacked boot of the black boot-black, 
blacked the black boot-black's visionary organ, and the black 
boot-black wore all the blacking off his blacked boot in boot- 
ing the white boot-black. 

PRONUNCIATION TEST. 

An Indian attracted by the aroma of the coffee and the 
broth, arising from the bivouac moving down the path, met a 
bombastic bravo who was troubled with the bronchitis. The 
Indian being in dishabille, was treated w T ith disdain by this 
blackguard, who called him a dog, and bade him with much 
vehemence and contumely to leave his domain, or he would 
demonstrate by his carbine the use of a coffin and cemetery. 
The Indian calmly surveying the dimensions of his European 
opponent, and being sagacious and robust, and having all the 
combativeness of a combatant, shot this ruffian in the abdomen 
with an arrow. 

A young patriot with a black moustache, coming from the 



62 brown's standard elocution 

museum, laughingly said, bravo ! you should be nationally re- 
warded by receiving the right of franchise, for I witnessed the 
altercation, and the evidence is irrefragable and indisputable 
that you have removed a nauseous reptile. I now make this 
inquiry — will not the matrons in this country, and the patrons 
of our schools, inaugurate some system that will give an im- 
petus to the interesting study of our language? If half the 
leisure moments were thus spent in lieu of reading some 
despicable romance, we should we wiser than we are. 



AND SPEAKER 



63 



COMMON ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION 



1. Among: many persons there exists a constant ten- 
dency to mispronounce certain combinations of sounds. 
This tendency arises from one of several causes and occa- 
sionally from all. It may be caused, first, by an imperfect 
apprehension of the sound ; second, an inability to repro- 
duce the sound, and third, a careless indifference. 

2. To overcome the first and second difficulties, train 
the ear to discover the true sound and to detect the error, 
and the speech organs to execute the sound correctly. 
The only remedy for the third cause is an appeal to the 
student's sense of propriety. 

3. The faults are represented in part by the follow- 
ing" words. Use them as a drill. 



ant 

a k 

after 

an' 

aM 

bail or bail. . 

ben 

be'in 

bun'rk 

b«eM'ern 

caf 

ca'd or ke&rd . 

k* ten 

surer 

char or ch^ar. 

cMi'dein 

ka'ie 1 

cora'a 

doz 

dren 

do 

el'um 

ere 

ev'ri 

s* ns 

sl'lunt 

spon 

stat'u 

teown 

trav'ler 



f< r aunt (ant) 

. " ask (ask) 

. " after (afei) 

. " and !_auu) 

. " ale (a;) 

. M ban el (bar'ei) 

. M been (bin) 

. " being (being) 

. ' bonne i (bon'et) 

. " brethren (bieoVren) 

" calf (Uaf) 

. " card (kard) 

. " catch (kach) 

. " cellar (sel'er) 

. " chair (char) 

. " children (chil'dren) 

. " c< ffee (kof e) 

. " commn (kom'a) 

. " does (duz)^ 

. " drain (d ran) 

. " due (du) 

. " elm (elm) 

. M ere (ar) 

. ■■ every (ev'e-ri) 

. " since (sins) 

. " silent (si'lent) 

. " spoon (spon) 

. " statute (stat'ut) 

. " towu (towu) 

. " traveler (trav'el-er) 



feound 

ga'den 

heerd 

hist"ri ._. 

l de' or l'de a. 

jist 

maaed 

ma'k 

mei'er 

mak 

mod'ist.... 

past 

prob'ble 

protes' 

r\Uh'er 

reg"ler 

rench 

iof 

rot 

scarce 

sev'rai 

shull 

srek 

hhet 

wand ... . 

was'ail 

hyear . 

marn 

dag 

f ar'est. 



. for found (fownd) 
garden (gar'den) 
beard (herd) 
history (his'to-ri) 
idea (1-de'a) 
joist (joist) 
made (mad) 
mark (mark) 
mellow (mel'6) 
mock (in ok) 
modest (mod'est) 
past (past) 
probable (prob'a-bl) 
protests (pro-tests') 
rather (ra^'er) 
regular (ieg'u-lar) 
rinse (rins) 
roof (rof) 
i oot (rot) 
scarce (ska»*s) 
several (sev'gr-al) 
shall (shal) 
shriek (shrek) 
shut (shut) 
wand (wond) 
wassail (wos'el) 
here (her) 
mourn (morn) 
dog (dog) 
forest (for'est) 



64 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



voi'o-lent for violent (vi'o-lent) 

wuz " was (woz) 

wot'er " water (wa'ter) 

ware or wer " were (ware) 

yen'der " yonder (yon'dSr) 

east " yeast (yest) 

maak " make (make) 

ra-ed " raid (rad) 

prar'i " prairie (pra'ri) 

maat " mat (mat) 

f;;er •• fare (far) 

^ur.thar orther " there (thkr) 

ar or ar " air (ar) 

er or er " ere (ar) 

laf, laf or laf " laugh (laf) 

gaunt *' gaunt (gant) 

grass or grass. . " grass (gras) 

cot M caught (kat) 

fa' or fur M far (far) 

fam " form (farm) 

fea " fear (fer) 

fur " for (far) 

faro •■ forge (forj) 



doth for doth (duth) 

put " put (pot) 

nur " nor (nar) 

saz " says (sez) 

an'i " any (en'i) 

none " none (nun) 

sot " suit (sut) 

]uth'er " leai her (leM'er) 

hare " hair (har) 

arn or urn »« earn (era) 

pert or purt| ..." pert (pert) 

miir'cy " mercy (mer'si) 

keind " kind (kind) 

aye " aye (I) 

fair " fire (fir) 

de'strikt " district (dis'trikt) 

gap " gape (pap) 

geirl or girl " girl(gerl) 

burd ..." bird (herd) 

wunt or wont. . . " won't (wont) 

farj'er ' " forger (for'jer) 

fag " fog (fog) 

saith " saith (seth) 

wor'sted " worsted (wos'ted 



Pronunciation Matches. — Pronuncing matches 
should be had as often as once a week. 



AND SPEAKER 



65 



ENGLISH WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED 



Drill I. 

on (on) 
ay (a or I) 
off (af) 
was (woz) 
elm (elm) 
due (du) 
dog (dog) 
urn (urn) 
new (nu) 
wan (won) 

Drill V. 

earn (ern) 
wont (wunt) 
quay (ke) 
gyve (jlv) 
path (path) 
none (nun) 
vast (vast) 
wand (wond) 
ruse (roz) 
bain (bath) 

Drill IX. 

ghoul (gol) 
sough (sow ov suf) 
hearth (harth) 
quoit (kwoit or koit) 
stalk (stak) 
swear (swar) 
laugh (laf) 
shaft (shaft) 
verge (verj) 
broth (broth) 

Drill XIII. 

alias (a'li-as) 
piano _(pi-a'no) 
edile (e'dil) 
bravo (bra'vo), n. 
resin (rez'in) 
desist (de-sisf) 
fetid (fet'id) 
guava (gwa'va) 
lever (le'ver or lev'er) 
monad (raon'ad) 

Drill XVII. 

forrest (for'est) 
basalt (ba'salt) 
cement (se-riient) 
pestle (pes'l) 
desist (de-sist) 
recess (re-ses'j 
exhort (eks-barf) 
allies (al-liz') " 
comely (kum'li) 
fauces (fa'sez) 



Drill II. 

ere (ar) 
e'er (ar or ar) 
gape (gap or gap) 
nape (nap) 
bade (bad) 
lute (lot or lut) 
here (her) 
fast (fast) 
long (lang) 
were (wer) 

Drill VI. 

magi (ma'ji) 
dais (da'is) 
ally (al-li'J 
lien (le'en or len 
idea (l-de'a) 
tiny (ti'jii) 
duty (du'ti) 
arid (arid) 
onyx (o'niks) 
iron (l'urn) 

Drill X. 

chyle (kil) 
hough (hok) 
psalm (sam) 
plait (plat) 
lithe {lith) 
fosse (fos) 
chops (chops) 
corps (kor) 
halve (hav) 
troth (trath) 

DriU XIV. 

ratio (ra'shi-6) 
vicar (vik'er) 
tenet (ten'et) 
oxide (_oks'id)_ 
eyrie (e'ri or a'ri) 
satyr (safer) 
tepid (tep'id) 
adult (a-dulf) 
odeon (b-de'on) 
petal (pet'al) 

Drill XVIII. 

acacia (a-ka'shi-a) 
iodine (i'o-din) 
lyceum (ii-sg'um) 
ranine (rap'in) 
ribald (rib'aW) 
decade (dek'ad) 
ensign (en'sin) 
museum (mu ze'um) 
vendue (ven-du') 
docile (dos'il) 



Drill III. 

bomb (bom) 
pass (pas) 
salt (salt) 
lost (last) 
bird (berd) 
mock (mok) 
rise (riz) 
.iowl (J 61) 
root (rot) 
half (haf) 

Drill VII. 

faro (far'6) 
withe (with) 
borne (born) 
chant (chant) 
graft (grajt) 
their (£Aar) 
groat (grot) 
rinse (1 ins) 
surge (surj) 
serge (serj) 

Drill XI. 

aroma (a-ro'ma)_ 
lurid (16'rid or lu'rid) 
extol (eks-tol' or ek- 
chary (char'i) [stol') 
fiery (fir'i) 
again (a-gen') 
visor (viz'ur) 
nomad (nom'ad) 
cabal (ka-bal') 
exude (eks-ud') 

Drill XV. 

nasal (na'zal) 
facet (fas'et) 
hovel (hov'ei) 
offal (of'al) 
agile (aj'il) 
naiad (na'y^d) 
amour (a-mor') 
sinew (sin^u) 
mania (ma'ni-a) 
adieu (a-du') 

DrUl XIX. 

ordeal (ar-deT) 
barrel (bar 'el) 
assume (as-sura') 
orchid (ar'kid) 
forger (foij'er) 
banana (ba-na'na) 
virile (vi'ril) 
canine (ka-nin') 
occult (ok-kulf) 
tirade (ti-rad') 



Drill IV. 

calf (kaf) 
caul (kal) 
lieu (lu) 
aunt (ant) 
nude (nud) 
deaf (def)_ 
won't (wont) 
tune (tun) 
gaol (jal) 
gone (gan) 

Drill VIII. 

booth (both) 
joust (just) 
saith (seth) 
chair (char) 
mourn (morn) 
spoon (spon) 
conch (kongk) 
salve (sav) 
seine (san or sen) 
forge (forj) 

Drill XII. 

irate (i-raf) 
often (af'n) 
after (aft'er) 
caret (ka'ret) 
water (wa'tSr) 
divan (di-van') 
irony (i'run-i), n. 
irony (i'tirn-i), a. 
sirup (sir'up) 
kopal (ko'pal) 

Drill XVI. 

chough (chuf) 
launch (lanch) 
youths (yoths) 
brooch (bi och) 
trough (traf) 
fetich (fe'tish) 
clique (klek) 
burred (burd) 
truths (troths) 
vaunt (vant) 

Drill XX. 

senile (se'nilj 
gerund (jer'und) 
harass (har'as) 
robust (ro bust') 
fecund (fek'und) 
satrap (sa'trap) 
extant (eks'tant) 
parent (par'ent) 
subtle (sut'l) 
correct (kar'net) 



66 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



Drill XXI 

puisne (pii'ni) 
dahlia (dal'i-a) 
filial (fil'yal) ' 
lichen (li'ken) 
tassel (tas'el) 
cerate (se'rat) 
excise (ex-siz')_ 
avenue (av'e-nu) 
facile (fas'il) 
visier (viz'yer) 



Drill XXII 

coffee (kof'e) 
bonnet (bon'et) 
cognac (kon-yak') 
donjon (dun'jun) 
orgies (ar'jiz) 
piazza (pi-az'a) 
retina (ret'j-na) 
strata (stra'ta) 
vagary (va-ga'ri) 
virago (vi-ra'go) 



Drill XXDI 

thought (that) 
swollen (swoln)_ 
portray (por-tra') 
febrile (f e'bril) 
palaver (pa-la'ver) 
bromine (bro^nin) 
curator (ku-ra'tur) 
fulsome (ful'sum) 
carbine (kar'bin) 
plateau (pla-to') 



Drill XXIV 

obesity (o-bes'i-ti) 
squalor (skwa'iiir) 
hostage (hos'taj) 
inquiry (in-kwi'ri) 
placard (plak'ard) 
frontal (fron'tal) 
diffuse (dif'fus), a. 
discern (dis-zern') 
prayers (prarz) 
leisure (le'zhor) 



Drill XXV 

contour (kon-tbr') 
gondola(gon'do-la) 
probity (prob'i-ti) 
caisson (ka'son) 
pageant (paj'ant) 
adipose (ad'i-poz) 
gallows (gal'oz) 
finance (fi-naus') 
isthmus (is'mus) 
hygiene (hi' ji-en) 



Drill XXVI 

jugular (jo'gu : lar) 
chimera (ki-me'fa) 
asphalt (as'falt) 
pyrites (pi-ri'tez) 
suffice (suf'iz) 
generic (je-ner'ik) 
aureola (a-re-6'la) 
bestial (best'yal) 
chorus (ko'rus) 
prussic (prus'ik) 



Drill XXVn 

concord (kon'kard) 
bellows (bel'oz)' 
premier (pre'mi-er) 
spinach (srjin'aj) 
courant (ko-ranf) 
verbose (ver-bos') 
reverie (rev'er-i) 
amateur (ama-tur') 
worsted (wost'ed) 
fuchsia (fu'shi-a) 



Drill XXVin 

syringe (sir'inj) 
matinee (mat'i-ne') 
erudite (er'u-dit) 
florist (flo'rist) 
bedizen (be-dizn') 
glamour (glam 'fir) 
languor (lang'gwur) 
gherkin (ger'kin) 
cayenne (ka-en') 
courtier (kort'yer) 



DriU XXIX 

lenient (le'ni-ent) 
deficit (def'i-sit) 
adverse (ad-vers') 
apricot (a^pri-kot) 
usurper (u-stirp'er) 
impious (impi-us) 
benzine (ben'zin) 
glacier (gla/sher) 
pretext (pre'tekst) 
routine (ro'tin) 



Drill XXX 

caesura (se-sii'ra) 
granary (gran'a-ri) 
persist (per-sist') 
prairie (pra'ri) 
recluse (re-klos') 
ruffian (rufyan) 
blatant (bla't'ant) 
hostler (hos'ler) 
scallop (skol'up) 
squalid (skwol'id) 



DriU XXXI 

suavity (swav'i-ti) 
oistich (dis'tik) 
curacoa (ko-ra-so'a) 
anchovy (an-c"ho'vi) 
isolate (i'so-lat) 
papyrus (pa-pi' r us) 
alcalde (al-kal'da) 
amenity (a-men'i-ti) 
bitumen (bi-tu'men) 
brothel (bro'thel) 



Drill XXXII 

epistle (e-pis'l) 
bivouac (biv'wak) 
arduous (ar'du-us) 
wassail (wos'el) 
systole (sis'to-le) 
horizon (ho-ri'zun) 
perotid (pa-rot'id) 
halcyon (hal'si-un) 
equable (e'kwa-bl) 
elysian (e-lizh'ia-n) 



Drill XXXIH 

fructify (fruk'ti-fi) 
colander (kol'an-der) 
nihilist (ni'hil-ist) 
chloride (klo'rid) 
apparent (ap-par'ent) 
whirl (hwerl) 
opponent (op-po'nent) 
vagaries (va-ga'riz) 
frontier (fron'teiO 
enervate (e ner'vat) 



DriU XXXIV 

raillery (ral'er-i) 
tyranic (ti-ran'ik) 
equipage (ek'wi-paj) 
amenable (a-me'na-bl) 
diocesan (di-os'e-san) 
cinchona (sin-ko'na) 
maniacal (ma-ni'ak-al) 
donative (don'a-tiv) 
luscious (lush'us) 
contrary (kon'tra-ri) 



Drill XXXV 

cognomen (kog-no'men) 
frequent (fre-kwenf) 
aspirant (as-pi'rant) 
morphine (mar'fin) 
specious (spe'shus) 
dolorous (dol'o-rus) 
dynamite (di'na-mit) 
aphelion (af-e'li-un) 
recusant (re-ku'zant) 
celibacy (sel'i-ba-si) 



DriU XXXVI 

antimony (an'ti-mo-ni) 
coquetry (ko'ket-ri) 
trichina (tri-ki'na) 
scirrhus (skir'us) 
sentient (sen'shient) 
immobile (im-mo'bil) 
corridor (kor'i-dor) 
splenatic (sple-net'ik) 
mustache (mus'tash) 
equivoke (ek'wi-vbk) 



Drill XXXVII 

credence (kre'deus) 
suburban (sub-ur'ban) 
retroact (re-tro-akf) 
balsamic (bal-sam'ik) 
decorous (de-ko'rus) 
surnamed (sur'namd) 
vehement (ve'he-ment) 
hiccough (hik'up) 
chaldron (chal(drun) 
construe (kon'stro) 



Drill xxxvin 

tartaric (tar-tar'ik) 
paraffine (par'a-fin) 
tranquil (trang'kwil) 
indocile (in-dos'il) 
nauseous (na'sbus) 
sardonyx (sar-do'nix) 
derisive (de-rj'siv) 
virulent (vij'u-lent) 
culinary (ku'li-na-ri) 
hymeneal (hi-me-ne'al) 



AND SPEAKER 



67 



Drill XXXIX 

dishevel (di-shev'el) 
vicinage (vis'i-uaj) 
sinecure (si'ne-kur) 
spheroid (sfe'roid) 
unctuous (ungk'tu -us) 
usurious (u-zho'ri-us 
gourmand (gor'rnand) 
courteous (kurt'e-us) 
behemoth (be-he'niuth) 
cynosure (si'no-shor) 



Drill XL 

pedagogy (ped'a-go-ji) 
magazine (mag-a zen') 
resource (re-sors') 
respited (res'pit-ed) 
intaglio (in-tal'yo) 
aeronaut (a'er-q-nat) 
borealis (bo-re. a'lis) 
gangrene (gang-gren') 
juvenile (jo've-nil) 
maritime imar'i-tim) 



DriU XLI 

matronize (mat'run-iz) 
cerements (ser'e-ments) 
cowardice (kow'ard-is_) 
dromedary (drum'e-da-ri) 
concourse (kon'kors) 
communism (kom'u-nizm) 
exquisite (eks'kwi-zit) 
fetichism (f e'tish-izm) 
declivous (de-kliv'us) 
admirable (ad'mi-ra-bl) 



Drill XLII 

specialty (spesb'al-ti) 
gladiolus (gia-di'o-lus) 
chivalric (shiv'al-rik) 
truculent (tro'ku-lant) 
pecuniary (pe-ku'ni-a-ri) 
legendari (lej'en-da-ri) 
discourse (dis-kors') 
scrivener (skriv'e-ner) 
southeost (sowth-est') 
associate (as-so'shi-at) 



DriU XLIII 

sovereign (sov'er-in) 
soporific (sop-o-rif'ik_) 
crematory (krem'a^ori) 
cassimere (kas'i mer) 
coadjutor (ko-ad-jo'tur) 
alternate (al'ter-nat), v. 
alternate (al-ter'nat), n. 
mistletoe (miz'l-to) 
irascible (I-ras'i-bl) 
dishonest (dis-on'est) 



Drill XLIV 

referable (ref er-a-bl) 
infantile (in'fan-til) 
refutable (re-fut'a-bl) 
obju.igate (ob-jur-gat) 
cochineal (koch'i-nel) 
trilobite (tri'lo-bit) 
alabaster (al'a-bas-ter) 
acoustics (a-kbw'stiks) 
therefore (thar'for) 
confiident (kon-fi-daut') 



DriU XLV 

maelstrom (mal'strom) 
apparatus (ap-a-ra'tus) 
contumely (kon'tu-me-li) 
defalcate (de-fal'kat) 
reputable (rep'u-ta-bl) 
exemplary (egz-em'pla-ri) 
grimalkin (grim-arkih) 
acclimate (ak-kli'mat) 
franchise (fran'chiz) 
reparable (rep'a-ra bl) 



Drill XL\ T I 

armistice (ar'mis-ti_s) 
fulminate (ful'mi-nat) 
chorister (kor'is-_ter)_ 
congeries (kon-je-ri-ez) 
desultori rdes'ul-to-ri) 
imbroglio (im-brol'yo) 
verdigris (ver'di-gris) 
menagerie (men-aj'er-i) 
financier (fin-an ser') 
diphtheria (dif-the'ri-a) 



Drill XLVII 

chalcedony (kal-sed'o-ni) 
alegorist (al'e-go rist) 
conversant (kon'ver sant) 
troubodour (tro'ba-dor) 
illustrate (il'us-trat) 
interstice (in'ter-stis) 
plagiarist (pla'ji-rist) 
peremptory (per'emp-to-ri) 
comparable (kom'pa-ra-bl) 
subsidence (sub-si'dens) 



DriU XL\Tn 

remediable (re-me'di-a-bl) 
respirable (re-spi'ra-bl) 
hospitable (hos'pit-a-bl) 
consummate (kon-sum'at) 
highwayman (hi'wa man) 
referrible (re-fer'i-bl)_ 
implacable (im-pla'ka-bl) 
indicatory (in'di-ka-to-ri) 
emendation (ein-en : da'shun 
remediless (re-med'i-les) 



Drill XLIX 

calicnable (kal-sin'a-bl) 
absolutory (ab-sol'u-to-ri) 
commandant(kom-an'dant) 
recitative (res'i-ta-tiv) 
flaccid ity (fiak-sid'ity) 
parenchyma (pa-ren-ki'ma) 
metallurgy (me't'_al-ur-ji) 
disputable (dis'pu-ta-bl) 
lamentable (lam'en-'ta-bl) 
compensate (kom'peri-sat) 



DriU L 

antepenult (an-te-pe-nulf) 
gum arabic (gum ar'a-bik) 
menihgitis (men-in-ji'tis) 
posthumous (post'hu-mus) 
rendezvous (ren'de-vo) 
caligraphy (ka-lig'ra fi) 
inimitable (in-im'i-t'a bl) 
acclimated (ak-kli'm'a-ted) 
telegraphy (te-leg'ra-fi) 
tonsilitis (ton-sil-i-tis) 



DrUl 1A 

sacerdotal (sas-er-do'tal) 
prescience (pre'shi-ens) 
homeopathy (hd-me-op'a-thi) 
laryngitis (lar-in-ji'tis) 
caricature (kar'i-ka-tur) 
camelopard (ka-m_el'o-pard) 
dishabille (dis-a-bel') 
hydropathy (hi-drop'a-thi) 
obligatory (ob'li-ga-to-ri) 
massacring (mas'a-kring) 



Drill LU 

capitoline (kap'i-to-lin) 
apotheosis (ap-o-the'o-sis) 
balderdash (bal'der-dash) 
bronchitis (brong-ki'tis) 
demoniacal (dem-o-ni'a-kal) 
forecastle (for'kas-1) 
mercantile (mer'kan-til)_ 
pianoforte (pi-a'no-for-te) 
precedence (pre-se'dens) 
strychnine (strik'nin) 



68 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



Drill LDI 

conservator (kon'ser-va-tur) 
provocative (pro-vo'ka-tiv) 
meteorolite (me-te-or'o-lit) 
sequestrate (se-kwes'trat) 
misconstrue (mis-kon'stro) 
deprivation (dep-ri-va'shun) 
demonstrate (dem'un-strat) 
three-legged (thre'legd) 
hypothenuse (hi-poth'e-ntis) 
inopportune (in op-iir-tun') 



Drill LIV 

legislative (lej-is-la'tiv) 
diplomatist (di-rjlo'ma-tist) 
marchioness (mar'shun-ess) 
mischievous (mis'chiv-us) 
interesting (in'ter-est-ing) 
enfranchise (en-f ran'chiz) 
clandestine (klan-des'tin) 
superficies (su-per-fish'ez) 
vindicative (vin'di-ka-tiv) 
sacrilegious (sak-ri-le'jus) 



Drill LV 

protestation (prot-es-ta'shun) 
transferable (trans-fer'a-bl) 
unfrequented (un-fre-kwen'ted) 
complaisance (kom-pla'sans) 
irrefragable (ir-ref'ra-ga-bl) 
irremediable (ir-re -me'di-a-bl) 
presentiment (pre-sent'i-ment) 
recognizance (re-kog'ni-zans) 
simultaneous (si-mul-ta'rie-us) 
charnelhouse (cnar'nel-hows) 



Drill LVI 

contumelious (kon-tu-me'li-us) 
incomparable (in-kom'pa-ra.bl) 
frontispiece (fron'tis-pes) 
unprecedented (un-pres'e-den-ted) 
oleomargarine (6-le-omar'ga-rin) 
agriculturist (ag-ri-kul'tur-'ist) 
lithographer (li-thog'ra.fer) 
irrecognizable(ir-rek'ug-ni-za-bl) 
tergiversation (ter-ji-ver-sa'shun) 
pronunciation (pro-nun-si-a'shun) 



AND SPEAKER 



69 



FOREIGN WORDS OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED 



A few of the following: words have received an English 
pronunciation. 

The student should find the meaning of the terms. 



abandon (a bang-dang') 
adobe (a-bo'ba) 
aid de camp (kang) 
adagio (ad-a'ji-q) 
allegro (al-la-gro) 
anglice (ang'gli^e) 
aitache (at a-sha') 
a propos (a pro po') 
au fait (6-fa) 
au revoir (o-rev-war') 

ballet (bal-la/) 
bas bleu (ba-blu) 
beaux esprits (boz-es-pre') 
belles lettres (bel-let'r) 
bijou (be-zho') 
blase (bla-za') 
bouhommie (bon-o-me') 
bon mot (bang'mo) 
boulevard (borvar) 
bouquet (bo ka') 

cafe (ka-fa') 

cachet (kash-a') 

caisson (ka's"n) 

canon (kau-yun) 

cantatrice (Uan'ta-tris) 

caoutchouc (ko'chok) [zet') 

carte de visite (kart-de-ve- 

carte blanche (kart-blansh') 

caviar (kav'i-a.' J 

charge d'affaires (shar'zha 

da-far*) 
cha; ivati (sha-re-va're) 
complaisance ( k o m ' p 1 a- 

zans) 
corps d'armee(kar dar-ma') 
cortege (kar'tazti) 
coup d'etat (ko-da-ta') 
coup6 (ko-pa') 
coupon (ko-paug') 
coyote (ki-yot'^ 
cuisine (kwe-zen') 

d ebouche (da : bo-sha') 
debris (da bre) 
debut (da-bo') 
debutant (da^bo-tang') 
debutante (da-bo-tanf) 
denouement (da-no-mang') 



dernier ressort ( dern-ya'- 

res-sar') 
distingue (dis-tang-ga') 
douche (dosh) 



naivete (na-ev-ta')_ 
negligee (na-gli-zha') 

on dit (ang-de') 
outre (o-tra/) 



eclat (a-kla') 

ecce homo (ek-se ho'mo) 

elite (a-lei') 

encore (aug-kor') 

ennui (ang-nwe') 

en route (aug-rof) 

entree (ang-tra') [kor') 

esprit decorps ( es-pre-de- qui vive (ke vev') 

etagere (a-ta-zhar') 

etui (a-twe'j 

exeunt (eks'se-unt) 

expose (eks-po-za') 



papier mache (pap-ya-ma- 
patois (pa-twa) [sha) 

penchant (pang-shang') 
protege (pro-ta-zha') 
pueblo (pu-eb'16) 



facade (fa-sadV) 
fiuale (fe : nala) 
finesse (fe-nes') 

gamin (gam-ang') 

garcon (gar-sang) 

gens d'armes'(zhan-darm') 

giaour (jowr) 

gout (go) 



haricot (har-e-ko') 
hauteur (ho' Liir) 

_ jeu d'esprit (zhu-des-pre') 

kirschwasser ( kersh'was- 
ser) 

litterateur (le-ta-ra-tur') 

[zel') 
mrdemoiselle (mad-mwa 
mandamus (man-da'mus) 
mayonnaise_(ma-yon-az') 
melange jma-lanzh') 
melee (ma-la')_ 
mesdames (ma-dam') 
mezzotint 'med'zo-tint) 
mirage (me-razh')_ 
miserere (miz-e-ra'ra) 
monsieur (mus-ye') 
morale (moral') 

naively (na-ev'li) 



raisonner (ra-zon-a') 
ranchero (ran-tsha'ro)^ 
recherche (re-shar-sha') 
restaurateur(ra-sto-ra-tur') 
reconuaissance ( re-kon'i- 
regime (ra-zhem')_ [sans) 
renaissance (re-na-sangs') 
repertoire_ (re-per-twar'j 
resume (ra-zu-ma') 
ricochet (rik-6-sha') 
role (rol) 
rouge (rozh) 
roue (ro'a) 

salam (sa-lam') 

salon (sa-lang ) 

sang f roid (sang-f rwa') 

savant (sa-vang') 

seance (sa-ans') 

silhouette (sil-6-et')_ 

sobriquet (s6-bre-ka') 

soi disant (swa-de-sang') 

soiree (swa-ra') 

sot to voce (sot-to-vo'cha) 

souvenir (so-ve-ner') 

tapis (ta-pe') 
tiers etat (te-erz-a-ta') 
*iournure (tor-nor') _ 
tragedienne (tra-zha-de-en') 

valet de chambre (va-la-de- 

shan'brj) 
vaudeville (vod'vel) 
vis-a-vis (vez-a-ve') 



zouave (zwav) 



70 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



PROPER NOUNS AND PROPER DERIVATIVES 
OFTEN MISPRONOUNCED. 



Aaron (ar'un) 
Adela (ad'e-la) 
^Eneid (e-ne'id) 
Afganistan jaf-gan-is-tan') 
Adonis (a-do'nis) 
Ajaccio (a-yat'cho) 
Alamo (a'la-mo) 
Alaric (al'ar-ik) 
Aldine(ardin) _ 
Alicia (a-lish'i-a) 
Ali (a'le) 
Alpine (al'pin) 
Antilles (an-til'ez) 
Aphaodite (af-ro-di'te) 
Arab (ar'ab) 
Arabic (ar'a-bik) 
Arion (a-rl'6n) 
Arcon (ar'son) 
Arctic (ark'tik) 
Arkansas (ar-kan-sa) 
Arnaud (ar'no) 
Asia (a'shi-a) 
Aubert (o-bat') 
Augean (a-je'an) 

Balmoral (bal-mor'al) 
Balzac (bal-zak') 
Bartimeus (bar-ti-me'us) 
Bastille (bas-te|') 
Beauchamp (bo'shan) 
Beethoven (ba'to-ven) 
Bedouin (bed'o-in) 
Belial (be'li-al) 
Boccaccio (bbk-kat'cho) 
Boleyn (bol'in) 
Bolingbro'ke (bol'ing-brok) 
Borghese (bor-ga'za) 
Boulanger (bo-lang-zha') 
Boston (bos'tun) (not bas'- 

tun) 
Brahmin (bra'min) 
Brougham bro'am) 
Buddhism (bud'izm) 
Buffon (buf'ang) 
Burgundy (bur'gun-di) 

Cadi (ka'di) 

California (kal-i-far'ni-a) 

Calliope (kal-li'o-pe) _ 

Carribbean (kar-ib-be'an) 

Cassiope (kas-si'o-pe) 

Caucasian (ka-ka'shi-an) 

Cecilia (se-sil'i-a) 

Conci (chon'che), Beatrice 

(ba-a-tre'cha) 
Cham (kam) 
Cheops (ke'ops) 
Cherubini (ka-ro be'ne) 
Chicago (shi-ka'go) 
Chinese (chi-nez) 
Chopin (sho-pang') 
Christianity (krist-yan'i-ti) 
Concord (koug'kurd) 



Chrichton (kri'tun) 
Curagoa (ku-ra-so'a) 
Cuvier (ku-ve a') 
Czerny (cher'ne) 
Danish (dan'ish)_ 
D'Aubigne (do ben'ya) 
Deborah (deb'o-ra) 
Descartes (da-karf) 
De Stael (de sta-el') 
Disraeli (dis-re'li) 
Doric (dor'ik) 
Dorothea (dor-o-the'a) 

Edinburgh (ed'in-burg) 
Eliab (e-li'ab) 
Eliphalet (e-11'fa-let) 

Faneuil Hall (fan^el hal) 
February (feb'rq-a-ri) 
Freycinet (fra-se-na') 
Froude (frod) 

Gloucester (glos'ter) 
Goethe (ge'te)_ 
Gounod (go-no') 
Graefe (gra'fe) 
Guido (gwe'do) 
Guelph (gwelf or welf) 
Guise (gwez[ 
Guizot (ge'zo') 

Hawaii (ha-wi'e) 
Hebe (he^be) 
Heine (hi'ne) 
Hellenes (hel'e-nez) 
Hemans (hem'anz) 
Hermione (her-mi'o-ne) 
Hoi burn (ho^burn) 
Hudibras (hu'di-bras) 

Ibrahim (ib'ra-him) 
Iowa (1'0-wa) " 
Iphegenia (if-i-je'ni-a) 
Ismail (is-ma-el') 
Italian (i-tal'yan) 
Ixion (iks-i'onj 

Jacques ( Fr. zhak ; 

Eng. ja'quez) 
Juarez (ho-a'res) 
Juuot (zho-no') 

Khedive (ke-div') 
Kossuth (kosh'ot) 

Lange (lang'e) 
Laocoon (la-ok'o-on) 
Latin (lat'in, not lat'n) 
Lethean (le-the'an) _ 
Leverrier (le-ve-'re-a') 
Lyonnais (le-un a') 

Macleod (mak-lowd^) 
Maggiore (mad-jo'ra) 



MagnaCharta(mag-na-kar'- 
Mazzini (mat-se'ne) ' [ta) 
Medici (med'e-che) 
Melpomene (mel-pom'e-ne) 
Missouri (mis-sb'ri) 
Moliere (mo-le ar') 
Mongol-(mon'gol) 

Napoleon ma-po'le-on) 
Nemesis (nem'e-sis) 
Notre Dame (no-tr-dam') 

Oberon (ob'e-ron) 
Odyssey (od'is-i) 
Omega (6-me'ga) 
Orion (6-ri'on) 
Orpheus (ar'fe-us) 
Ossian (osh'an) 

Pall Mall (pel-mel') 
Pegasus (peg'a sus) _ 
Penelope (pe-riel'o-pe) 
Persia (per'shi-a) 
Philander (fi-lan'der) 
Philemon (fl-le'mon) 
Pleiades((ple'ya-dez) 
Plutarch (plo'tark)_ 
Pompeii (pom-pa'ye) 
Psyche (sl'ke) 

Richelieu (resh'e-16) 
Rousseau (r>so') 

Sahara (sa-ha'ra) 
Salome (sa-16'me) 
Sanhedriri (san-he'drin) 
Seville (sev'il) 
Sigismund (sij'is-mund) 
Stephana (stef a-na) 
Strahan (stran) 
Sturm (storm) 

Terpsichorean (terp-si.ko- 

re'an) 
Thalia (tha-li'a) 
Thiers (te-erV 
Tuileries (twe-la re') 

Ulrica (ul'ri-ka) fl«) 

Ultima Thulejful'ti-mathu' 
Ulysses (u-lis'ez) 
Uranus (u'ra-nus) 

Vespucci (ves-pot'che) 
Vibert (ve-bar') 
Virginia (ver-jin'i-a, not 
ver-jin-ya) 

Whewell (hu'el) 
Worcester (wo'ster) 

Yonge (yung) 

Zacheus (zak'e-us) 
Zachary (zak'a-ri) 



VOICE AXD SPEECH CULTURE. 



i. Voice is the audible vibrations heard in the air passing 
from the lungs into and through the vocal organs. The air is 
driven from the lungs as from a bellows by the action of the 
respiratory muscles; and after receiving the vibratory motion 
in the larynx and resonance in the pharynx, the peculiar sound 
termed voice is produced. Speech is made of voice by the 
proper articulations of the speech organs. 

2. The highest skill in speech is attained only by a per- 
fect control of the voice and speech organs. 

3. The chief requisite in securing 'great vocal power is an 
erect and easy posture of the body, giving expansiveness to the 
chest and freedom to the limbs, and that absolute command of 
the breath which will enable the speaker to utter one hundred 
or more syllables in a single breath. 

4. To secure the greatest compass and flexibility the stu- 
dent should not confine his practice to low notes, under the 
impression that thus only can he acquire the full, rich volume 
he so much admires in some favorite speaker. The exercises 
must include every interval between the highest and lowest 
notes. Practice in all degrees and tones gives compass and 
flexibility. Flexibility and decision of speech are secured 
largely by frequent practice upon passages requiring the utmost 
rapidity of utterance. 

5. Cultivate particularly pleasant tones and correct and 
distinct articulation. Avoid falling into the habit of a drony 
enunciation and a drowsy, drawling speech, or the offensive 

tones of AFFECTATION. 

71 



72 brown's standard elocution 

6. In your public vocal performances, be deliberate. 
Leave nothing unfinished. The mind, not the organs involved, 
must control the speech. 

7. Huskiness, harshness and hardness of tone result from 
the contact of air inhaled during vocal exercises with the lining 
mucous membrane of the speech organs ; no air whatever should 
enter the mouth. Keep the mouth constantly moist. This will 
not be difficult if you inhale through the nostrils, and employ 
all exhaled air in phonation. 

8. The nasal passages should be kept constantly open. 
Proper breathing and cleanliness will secure this condition. 

9. Fullness, depth, richness and flexibility of tone are so 
largely dependent upon the control of the tongue, throat, and 
jaw muscles that constant attention should be given to the free 
action of these muscles. 

10. To render words most easily understood by those re- 
mote from the speaker, the mouth should be opened freely and 
fully, and should not be closed too suddenly in finishing 
syllables. 

11. During reading and speaking care should be exercised 
to avoid a continued pitch too high, too low, or a monotone. 
The last reacts upon the speaker, rendering his delivery dull and 
lifeless; a pitch too low usually prevents understanding the 
words ; while a prolonged high pitch exhausts the speaker and 
wearies an audience beyond its capacity of enjoyment. The 
pitch should follow the general law of thought development — 
curves, slides and waves — few planes. 

12. To prevent embarrassment, arising from nervousness, 
inhale and exhale to your utmost capacity a number of times 
before attempting to use the voice in public. The same pre- 
caution will materially prevent incoherency, stuttering and 
stammering in extemporaneous speech. 

13. Finally, avoid the so-called "modern elocutionist's 
style" which seems to reach its perfection of unreality in a 



AND SPEAKER 73 

sickening a ff relation as repulsive to the good sense of the public 
as it is false to the teachings of nature. 

Human Sympathy. — The student is here reminded that 
however vigorous his enunciation, however accurate his articu- 
lation, appropriate his quality, force, pitch and movement, one 
element of success may be lacking. This is genuine human 
sympathy. The ear may be pleased by harmonious sounds, the 
eye fascinated by graceful gestures, and even the intellect may 
tacitly acknowledge the speaker's art, but the soul, that priest- 
ess of the inner temple, can not be deceived by outward show. 
The stifled breath, the palpitating heart, the moistened eye 
respond not to skillful movements and artistic sounds, but to 
the stricken heart — the suffering soul whose agonies the speak- 
er's looks and feelings vivify. 

VOICE PRESERVATION. 

1. Do not throat your voice. 

2. Consign tobacco to the mutes. 

3. Constantly cultivate pure tones. 

4. Avoid a long continued high pitch. 

5. Use no drinks during vocal exercise. 

6. Use no stimulants or acids of any kind. 

7. Breath as directed under Respiration. 

8. Keep the mind and body pure and healthy. 

9. Avoid affectation, arrogance, and irritability. 

10. Keep the temper as a reserve force, under control. 

11. Permit no compression about the neck, waist or chest. 



MODULATION. 



Modulation is the ready and perfect adaptation of the 
appropriate elements of speech to the sentiment designed to be 
conveyed. 

i. The skillful modulation of the voice requires an in- 
stantaneous and imperceptible transition from one quality to 
another, an easy increase or decrease of force, a ready change 
of stress, and a perfect command of every degree of pitch and 
movement. 

2. The good reader or speaker varies the element of ex- 
pression so skillfully that the hearer gets a suggestion of the 
meaning of the words by the very nature of the sound in which 
they are uttered. 

MODE OF UTTERANCE. 

Voice is vocalized breath and as such its formation depends 
upon the method of exhalation employed in phonation and 
speech. 

As there are three methods of forcing the air from the 
lungs, termed effusive, expulsive, and explosive, so there are 
three modes of utterance derived from the manner of expir- 
ation, and named : 

i. Effusive Utterance, in which the tone is gently and 
evenly effused from the vocal organs without abruptness. It 
is the characteristic tone of tranquillity, pathos, grandeur, 
devotion, 

2. Expulsive Utterance, in which the tone is projected 
from the vocal organs with more or less abruptness, according 

74 



AM) SPEAKER 75 

to the intensity of feeling accompanying speech. It ranges in 
use from ordinary description and narration to the highest 
forms of argumentative discourse. 

3. Explosive Utterance, in which the tone is shot forth 
with an instantaneous burst like the crack of a rifle. The 
abrupt shock peculiar to the explosive is produced by a 
momentary restraint of the breath in the glottis followed by an 
irresistible upward action of the respiratory muscles. This 
mode of utterance is employed in the expression of sudden 
anger, terror, ecstasy, command. 

Application. — No one mode of utterance is likely to be 
appropriate to an entire composition. The effusive is rarely 
found in more than two or three consecutive w T ords. The 
expulsive is more common than the others, being employed in 
the greater part of every conversation. 



EXERCISES IN MODES OF UTTERANCE. 
EFFUSIVE UTTERANCE. 

Sublimity, reverence. 

Father, thy hand 
Hath reared these venerable columns ; thou 
Did'st weave this verdant roof. Thou didst look down 
Upon the naked earth, and forthwith rose 
All these fair ranks of trees. They in thy sun 
Budded, and shook their green leaves in thy breeze, 
And shot toward heaven. The century-living crow, 
Whose birth was in their tops, grew old and died 
Among their branches ; till at last they stood, 
As now they stand, massy, and tall, and dark, 
Fit shrine for humble worshiper to hold 
Communion with his Maker. 

[From "God's First Temples/' — Bryant.] 



76 brown's standard elocution 

expulsive utterance. 
Joyous exclamation. 

Go, ring the bells, and fire the guns, 
And fling the starry banner out ; 

Shout "freedom" till your lisping ones 
Give back their cradle-shout ; 

Let boasted eloquence declaim 

Of honor, liberty, and fame; 

Still let the poet's strain be heard, 

With "glory" for each second word, 

And everything with breath agree 

To praise "our glorious liberty." 

[From "Prisoner for Debt." — Whittier.] 



EXPLOSIVE UTTERANCE. 

Fright, terror. 

Hear the loud alarum bells — 
Brazen bells ! 
What a tale of terror now their turbulency tells ! 
In the startled ear of night 
How they scream out their affright ! 
Too much horrified to speak, 
They can only shriek, shriek, 
Out of tune, 
In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, 
In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire, 
Leaping higher, higher, higher, 
With a desperate desire, 
And a resolute endeavor, 
Now — now to sit, or'never, 
By the side of the pale-faced moon. 
O the bells, bells, bells ! 
What a tale their terror tells 
Of despair! 

[From "The Bells."— Poe.] 



AND SPEAKER 77 

SLIDES. 

Slides, sometimes termed inflections, are concrete changes 
of pitch, either upward ( / ) or downward ( \ ) on a single 
element or word. They vary in extent of elevation or depres- 
sion accoiding to the nature of the sentiment. 

i. The purpose of slides is to convey more accurately those 
delicate shades of meaning found in abstract reasoning, un- 
emotional description and narration, to give clearness to con- 
trasted ideas, and vigor to expressions of earnestness, emotion 
and passion. 

2. In addition to the service rendered in the apprehension 
of the thought by the correct use of slides, their judicious em- 
ployment gives a beauty, variety and melody to speech which, 
when artistically applied, is as pleasing to the ear as the most 
artistic variations of music and song. 

3. The importance of slides is shown in the fact that many 
actors, public readers and teachers of expression prepare com- 
positions for delivery and teaching by marking nearly every 
passage with the appropriate voice slides. The author's ex- 
perience with hundreds of students confirms the opinion that 
the skillful application of slides and waves contributes to in- 
telligible delivery more than any one element the orator may 
employ. 

4. While many will appreciate the value of slides in 
adding clearness to reading and speaking, the student is re- 
minded that the recognition of a requisite, does not imply a 
natural ability to command and properly to employ the appro- 
priate slide. Indeed, many young people of superior intelli- 
gence and fair attainments in our high schools and colleges are 
found who can neither apply the required slide when indicated 
nor imitate it when given by their instructor, without much 
practice. 

5. Xo marked degree of excellence in expressive reading 



78 brown's standard elocution 

may be expected until the student has given much time to the 
practice and intelligent study of the principles governing 
voice slides. 

UPWARD SLIDE. 

The Upward Slide is an elevation of voice through the con- 
crete change of pitch, the degree of elevation depending upon 
the intensity of the thought or emotion. 

GENERAL LAW OF USE. 

The Upward Slide is employed upon the accented syllable 
of those words used singly, in phrases or in sentences, denoting 
indifference, uncertainty, incompleteness, doubt, contingency, 
negation, direct interrogation, tenderness^ pathos, surprise, 
wonder, anticipation. 

PRINCIPLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The Upward Slide is used in — 

I. Direct questions; as, 

Would you make men trustworthy ? 

Do you refuse me justice ! — audience — even? 

Note. — A repetition of a direct question requires the down- 
ward slide; as Did you go home? What did you say? Did 
you go home? 

II. Emphatic interrogative repetitions; as, 
Looked as if I guessed his meaning? 
I'm always wanting money for clothes ? 

III. Words and phrases of informal address; as, 
John, bring me your book. 

Maclaine ! you've scourged me like a hound. 

Note. — A formal or emphatic address requires the down- 
ward slide ; as, Fellow citizens : It is no ordinary cause, etc. 
O comrades! Warriors! Thracians! 



AND SPEAKER 79 

IV. Expressions of negation, implying contrast; as, 
He is not a man of words. 

I did not say a younger man. 

V. Anticipative phrases or clauses; as, 

To become wise and learned, requires study. 

He that can not bear a jest should not make one. 

VI. Expressions of indifference ; as, 
You may go if you wish. 

What do you wish to see? Oh, nothing. 

VII. Words of pathos, entreaty, gentle reproof; as, 
He moaned so pitifully, I couldn't chide him. 
John, I'm very sorry you've disregarded my wishes. 

VIII. Unimportant particulars, except the last; as, 
Pride costs more than hunger, third and cold. 
John, Henry, James and Charles are present. 

IX. Expressions of doubt, contingency and uncertainty ; as, 
There is a possibility of the train's being late. 

Good advice were better if well followed. 

X. Contrasts introduced by adverbial "as" ; as, 
Night brings out stars, as sorrow show T s us truth. 
As we rise in glory, w T e sink in pride. 

DOWNWARD SLIDE. 

The Downward Slide is a downward movement of the 
voice through the concrete change of pitch, the degree of 
depression depending upon the completeness, exactness, or defi- 
niteness of the thought in the speaker's mind. 

GENERAL LAW OF USE. 

The Downward Slide is employed upon those syllables used 
singly, in phrases or in sentences denoting completeness, de- 
termination, certainty, command, passion, positive and decisive 
declaration. 



80 brown's standard elocution 

principles and illustrations. 

The Downward Slide is used in — 

I. Answers to direct or indirect questions; as, 
Did you go home ? No, I did not. 

Who discovered the Mississippi? De Soto discovered it. 

Exception. — If the person addressed is indifferent, he will 
usually answer with an upward slide; as, 

Did you enjoy your vacation? Oh, yes, pretty well. 
Do you regard her as handsome ? Yes, passably so. 
Which way shall we walk? I am not particular. 

II. Declarative, imperative and exclamatory sentences; as, 
Great beggars are said to be little doers. 

Confess your faults ; a fault confessed is half redressed. 

III. Completeness of thought in principal or subordinate 

clauses; as, 

Did ye not hear it ? — No ; 'twas but the wind, 

Or the car rattling o'er the stony street. 

On with the dance ! let joy be unconf ined ; 

No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet 

To chase the glowing hours with flying feet : 

But, hark ! that heavy sound breaks in once more, 

As if the clouds its echo would repeat; 

And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before ! 

Arm 5 arm ! it is — it is the cannon's opening roar ! 

IV. Language of determination and certainty ; as, 
We shall attack the fort at sunrise. 

I know the power of freedom, I rejoice in her majesty. 

Y. Impassioned exclamations; as, 

To arms ! they come ! the Greek ! the Greek. 
Hence, horrible shadow ! Unreal mockery, hence ! 



AND SPEAKER 81 

VI. Direct interrogation anticipating the answer yes or no; 

as, 

Have I not treated your as a gentleman? Yes, 
Have we ever failed to keep our faith? No. 

VII. Emphatic and repeated direct or indirect questions; 

as, 

Why have you disobeyed my commands? 
Will you stop that distressing noise? 

YIII. Each member, except the last, of a commencing 
series; as, 

The wisdom of the philosopher, the eloquence of the his- 
torian, the sagacity of the statesman, the capacity of the gen- 
eral, may produce more lasting effects upon human affairs, but 
they are incomparably less rapid in their influence, and less 
intoxicating from the ascendancy they confer, than the art of 
oratory. 

IX. Each member, except the last but one, of a concluding 

series; as, 
Let a child read and understand such stories as the friend- 
ship of Damon and Py'thias, the integrity of Aristides, the 
fidelity of Regulus, the purity of Washington, the invincible 
perseverance of Franklin, and he will think and act after the 
manner of the world's greatest benefactors. 

X. Members of sentences expressing affirmation and 

negation have opposite slides; the affirmative mem- 
ber has the downward slide, the negative the up- 
ward; as, 

I am here to act, not to talk. 

I am here not to talk, but to act. 



82 brown's standard elocution 



WAVES. 



The Wave, (a) sometimes termed circumflex, from the 
twisting or crooked motion of the tone in passing over the 
vowels, is a compound movement of voice on a single syllable, 
word or sentence. 



classification of waves. 

The Upward Wave, expressive of completeness, is the 
union of the Upward and Downward Slides; as, ah. 

The Downward Wave, expressive of incompleteness, is the 
union of the Downward and Upward Slides; as, ah. 

Waves may be Single, consisting of the two Slides only, 
Upward or Downward ; or they may be 

Multiple, consisting of any number of Slides greater than 
two, beginning with either the Upward or Downward Slide. 

Waves may be Equal when the voice slides equally in both 
directions, or they may be 

Unequal, when the voice slides unequally in both direc- 
tions. 



APPLICATION OF WAVES. 

The Upward Single Equal Wave expresses astonishment, 
admiration; as, Ah ! beautiful ! 

The Downward Single Equal Wave expresses scorn, con- 
tempt, ridicule, mockery, sneer; as, You a soldier! 

Unequal Slides are employed to increase the intensity of 
emotions. 

Multiple Waves, in addition to increasing the intensity of 
expression, mark a progressiveness of emotion that produces a 
most startling impression upon the hearer. For illustrations of 
multiple waves see sentences with diagrams below. 



WD SPEAKEB 83 

EXTENT OF WAVES. 

Wave of the Second Upward or Downward, rarely un- 
equal, have the least perceptible change of pitch. It is the 
gentle undulation of voice through the interval of two notes. 
In the expression of grandeur, sublimity, and devotion with 
subdued force, it gives to the voice a beauty, harmony, and 
impressiveness found nowhere else in the whole range of 
earthly sounds. Without it the solemn service of the church 
and the grandeur of the inspired Word become meaningless 
cadences or painful monotony. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Wave of the Secoxd, employed with a subdued force 
and low pitch, is used to express dignified admiration, mild con- 
trast, gentle yet all pervading emotions of reverence and awe, 
sentiments of beauty, sublimity, grandeur, devotion and ador- 
ation. 

Drill frequently on the following beautiful stanza: 

There the life-fires brighten, J and burn | and roll, 
O'er diamonds \ that sparkle | o'er sands of gold, 
Where | to breathe the sweet air | yields a bliss untold, 
And the dwellers | immortal | shall never grow old. 

["God's Beautiful City.'—B. F. Taylor.] 

The Wave of the Third, Upward or Downward, Equal 
or Unequal, rises or falls through an interval of three notes. It 
is the characteristic wave of playful wit, humor, and good- 
natured raillery. Its peculiar deflections refer the mind back- 
ward or forward to some implied or unexpected witticism. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Wave of the Third expresses mirth, wit, jest, drol- 



84 brown's standard elocution 

lery, insinuation, double meaning, affectation, mimicry, strong 
contrast. 

Example :— 

A duchess ! You shall be a queen — to all 
Who, by the courtesy, will call you so. 

Wave of the Fifth and Octave. A voice wave direct, 
inverted, equal or unequal, passing through a fifth or an octave, 
is termed emotional, or impassioned. It is characteristic of the 
greatest mental and physical agitation. Confined within the 
speaker's compass, restrained by will and controlled by judg- 
ment, it becomes one of the most potent accompaniments of 
invective, vituperation, scorn, sarcasm, and mockery, which a 
speaker can employ. It rarely occurs in modern literature. 
It is found mostly in the drama. As a voice building exercise, 
giving facility in impressive transitions, it is superior to any 
other single effort required of the student. Daily practice in 
all the waves, closing with the octave, should be insisted upon 
throughout the course. 

law of use. 

The Wave of the Fifth and Octave is used to express 
irony, sarcasm, satire, sneer, ridicule, astonishment, intense in- 
terrogation, amazement, scorn, mockery, disgust, contempt, 
malice, hatred, revenge. 

For examples of waves of the fifth and octave see dia- 
grammed and miscellaneous examples following. 

exercises in waves. 

The student will study carefully each sentence and en- 
deavor to apply the waves in the manner indicated by the dia- 
gram following it. 

To secure facility in expression, the student should con- 



AM) SPEAKER 



85 



centrate his mental powers upon all the conditions surrounding 
the supposed speaker of these sentences. 

Note. — The breaks in the diagrams mark the different 

words. 



1. Affectation: / am so fa- 

tigued. 

2. Anxiety: Where can he be? J 

3. Gayety: Merrily they sing. 

4. Laughter, Mirth : You're a 

happy dog! 

5. Surprise: What! the King's ^J\-^ M f~ 

wifel the Queen!* 

6. Contempt: You may keep 

your money. 

7. Rage: / hate him! 





8. Grief: Oh, my son! my son! 

9. Sneering: Smile on, my 

lords! 



^4*+~~&S 



10. Triumph: Shout freedom! **» 

■vvftA/v 

* The skip from "wife" to "queen" is a discrete movement. 



11. Irony: Brutus is an honor- 

able man. 

12. Intense Irony: They are all 

honorable men. 



86 brown's standard elocution 

miscellaneous exercises. 

Note. — Wave words not marked with the signs are in 
italics. 

1. I did not give a dollar. 

2. I did not give a dollar. 

3. Ah ! it was you, then, that struck me. 

4. I did not think that he would do it. 

5. Old enough ! ay, there it is. 

6. It cannot be — thou dost but say 'tis so. 

7. You boast your father was a lord ! 

8. Yes, I claim my father was a lord. 

9. What dost thou think? Think, my lord? 

10. Gone to be married ! gone to swear a peace ! 

11. O, noble judge? O, excellent young man! 

12. Oh, but he paused upon the brink. Paused did he? 
1.3. Thou wear a lion's hide? Doff it for shame, 

And hang a calf skin on thy recreant limbs. 

14. They tell us to be moderate while they revel in pro- 

fusion. 

15. Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not seems. 

16. Can honor set a leg? No. Or an arm? No. 

17. What's in a name? That which we call a rose 
By any other name would smell as sweet. 

18. Yet this is Rome and we are Romans. 

19. Men, indeed! call themselves lords of creation. 
Pretty lords, when they can't even take care of an um- 
brella! 

20. Her mother only killed a cow, 
Or witched a churn or dairy-pan. 
But she, forsooth, must charm a man. 

21. Hath a dog money? Is it possible 

A cur can lend three thousand ducats? 

22. A second Daniel, a Daniel, Jew ! 



AND SPEAKER 87 

Now, infidel, I have thee on the hip, 

A Daniel still I say ; a second Daniel ! 

I thank thee, Jew, for teaching mc that word. 

23. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, 
And Brutus is an honorable man. 

24. Was this ambition? 

Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; 
And, sure, he is an honorable man. 

25. And this man is now become a god! 

26. Rich in some dozen paltry villages! 
Strong in a hundred spearmen! 
Only great in that strange spell, — 
A name. 

27. My father's trade? Why, blockhead, are you mad? 
My father, sir, did never stoop so low, — 

He was a gentleman, I'd have you know. 

28. What ! shear a wolf? a prowling ze/a//? 

pauses. 

Pauses are temporary suspensions of speech between words, 
phrases and clauses. 

1. Pauses serve three purposes: 

1. To convey the speaker's meaning clearly; termed Sen- 
tential. 

II. To increase the effectiveness of delivery; termed 
Emotional. 

III. To add embellishment to the composition; termed 
Rhythmical. 

2. The primary use of pauses is to set off the divisions of 
thought — to arrange the ideas with respect to each other so that 
the mind of the hearer can grasp their relations to each other 
and to the thought as a whole. 

3. Without frequent and appropriate pauses speech is but 



88 brown's standard elocution 

a monotonous succession of zuords whose related significance 
must be obtained only by great mental effort; while their 
judicious employment arouses and rivets the attention, quickens 
the perception and makes the receiving of truth acceptable for 
the pleasure afforded in hearing it. 

4. No combination of words, however rhetorically ar- 
ranged, however well delivered with reference to all the em- 
bellishments of elocution can be made to produce an effect so 
impressive, so thrilling, as a profound pause made amid the 
stillness of a breathless audience. If speech is sometimes 
silver, a pause is golden; if the former is grand the latter is 
awful — sublime. 

5. Punctuation marks, sometimes termed "grammatical 
pauses/' indicate the syntactical structure of the sentence, but 
do not necessarily locate or determine the length of pauses. 
The reader gathers the sense of a passage by the aid of punctu- 
ation and applies the appropriate pause according to the nature 
of the sentiment, modified by attending circumstances of time, 
place and occasion. 

6. A good reader will make many more pauses than are 
indicated by the punctuations, and will sometimes pass over 
such marks without any pause. In the sentence "No, sir, there 
is none," a pause between "no" and "sir" would be im- 
proper. 

7. The length of pauses is dependent wholly upon the 
nature of the* thought, sentiment, or emotion. As a general 
rule, lively, playful thought and joyous, excited emotions re- 
quire short pauses ; commonplace sentiments, ordinary de- 
scription and narration require moderate pauses; while long 
pauses are appropriate to solemn, serious thought and emotions 
of sublimity and awe. 



AXD SPEAKER 89 

principles and exercises. 

pause: 

I. Before the infinite phrase ; as, 

Life is too short j to learn more than one trade well. 
I do not rise | to waste the night in words. 

II. Before prepositional phrases; as, 

How sweet the chime | of the Sabbath bells ! 
Hearts may agree | though heads differ. 

III. Before the predicate noun clause ; as, 
The truth is | my money was all gone. 

My prayer shall ever be | "Angels guard thy way." 

IV. Before the objective clause; as, 
He said, | "I am the man ye seek." 

Tell your master | that I await his pleasure. 

V. Before adjectives following their noun; as, 
There's a lute | unswept and a harp without strings. 
One stands apart, a woman | sad and silent. 

VI. Before relative pronouns and conjunctive adverbs; as. 
Let me have friends | whose hearts are pure. 

She fell not | when the mighty were upon her. 

VII. Before conjunctions; as, 

Religion is an excellent armor, | but a poor cloak. 
Xight folds her sable mantle | and pins it with a star. 

VIII. Before an ellipsis; as, 

Art thou some god, | some angel, or | some devil? 
Time wasted is existence, | used | is life. 

IX. Before any important or emphatic word; as, 
The Union | must and ' shall be preserved. 
When you do not know what to do, j wait. 



90 brown's standard elocution 

X. Before the logical subject or subject and copula in inverted 
sentences; as, 
The happiest of girls | was Mary. 
Soon rested | those who fought. 
But beneath all these relations | he is a man. 

XL Before the copula preceded by a phrase or clause; as, 
Duties fulfilled | are always pleasures to the memory. 
That he may succeed | is my daily prayer. 

pause : 

I. After the nominative phrase or clause ; as, 
The perfection of art | is to conceal art. 
All that breathe | will share thy destiny. 

II. After the objective phrase, in an inverted sentence; as, 
My happy peaceful youth | restore to me. 

His manly face | our eyes shall see no more. 

III. After introductory predicate adjectives; as, 
Happy | is the man who owes not another. 
Gentle and kind | were the friends of my youth. 

IV. After emphatic words; as, 

Go preach to the coward, | thou death-telling seer ! 
Strike | for the sires who left you free. 

V. After a participial phrase; as, 

Fearing a disastrous defeat | he prudently withdrew. 
Raising his hand | he motioned the boy forward. 

VI. After an important or emphatic subject; as, 
Life | is real! Life | is earnest! 

Some Cromwell, | guiltless of his country's blood. 

VII. After transposed adverbial elements; as, 
In toil | he lived ; in peace | he died. 

When anger rises | breathe through your nose. 



AXD SPEAKER 91 

pause: 

I. Before and after an apposition phrase; as, 

The youth, | a very giant, | soon won the respect of all. 
The citizens, | kings of a republic, | must wield the ballot. 

II. Before and after parenthetical expressions; as, 

The mansion, | for such it was, | had been a beautiful struc- 
ture. 

The wolves, | the most formidable beasts present, | howled 
madly. 

III. Before and after direct quotations; as, 

Lifting his eyes, | he seemed to say, | "Yes," | and sank 

back. 
It stopped to whisper, j "Beware, beware," j and passed on. 

IV. Before and after important words; as, 
And every word was | War! \ war! | war! 
Lord Angus, | thou | hast | lied! 

V. Before and after a verb separated from its auxiliary; as, 
The change will, | in all probability, j affect his mind. 
The man did, | beyond all doubt, | show great bravery. 

pause : 

Between the parts of an inverted' sentence ; as, 
When boasting ends, | there dignity begins. 
As we advance in life, | we learn the limits of our abilities. 

PAUSES IN POETRY. 

The principles governing pauses, as stated above, apply to 
nearly every form of vocal expression, whether prose or poetry. 
The rule requiring a slight pause at the end of every line of 
poetry is misleading, and results in that sing-song style so com- 



92 brown's standard elocution 

mon among children and illiterates. The rhythm must not be 
made so prominent as to obscure the sense. Poetic measure 
may embellish thought, but it can not supplant it in expression. 

The terms caesura and demi-caesura should not be regarded 
as pauses, but as divisions of the rhythmical structure of the 
poetic line. Unless the sense requires a pause, regard neither 
these divisions nor the punctuation marks. Observe the fol- 
lowing rule : In reading poetry, unless the sense requires a 
pause, let the voice delicately poise at caesuras, demi-caesuras 
and the end of each line. 

A vocal poise is effected by a gentle swell and pivotal move- 
ment of tone to the next word or line. 



QUANTITY. 

Quantity is the measure of time occupied in the utterance 
of single syllables and words. 

1. Whatever importance may be attached to the peculiar 
meaning to be given individual words, no marked success will 
be attained until the element of quantity is mastered. 

2. It is observed that the untrained speaker can not make 
the short sounds short enough nor the long sounds sufficiently 
long. His attempts in the first efforts result in incoherency, in 
the second, drawling. 

All syllables may be classed as : 

1. Indefinite: Capable of being indefinitely prolonged. 

2. Immutable: Incapable of prolongation. 

3. Mutable: Capable of a slight degree of prolongation. 

application of quantity. 

Indefinite syllables, requiring Long Quantity, are employed 
in the expression of tenderness, reverence, adoration, awe, 
solemnity, sublimity, shouting, calling, sorrow, remorse. 



AXD SPEAKER 



93 



Immutable syllables, requiring Short Quantity, are em- 
ployed in the expression of rapturous joy, mirth, command, 
sudden anger, terror. 

Mutable syllables, requiring Medium Quantity, are em- 
ployed in ordinary narration, description, unimpassioncd con- 
versation and introductions to orations. 

Exercises upon Indefinite syllables, Long Quantity. 
Prolong the syllables without mouthing or drawling. 



gray 


peace 


cold 


ah 


appall 


darkling 


woe 


moan 


poor 


home 


disarm 


smiled 


dare 


gold 


far 


praise 


beware 


pleading 


ay 


toll 


aim 


all 


forlorn 


glorious 


sea 


roam 


mourn 


mourn 


groaning 


yearning 



Exercises upon Immutable syllables, Short Quantity. 
Utter the syllables instantaneously. 



at 


hip 


mock 


sat 


lackey 


backing 


not 


sick 


dip 


iip 


reckon 


speckle 


lit 


dock 


tack 


cup 


bedeck 


trickle 


tin 


back 


hat 


beck 


wicket 


rocket 


sup 


duck 


met 


map 


upper 


attic 



Exercises upon Mutable syllables, Medium Quantity, 
Prolong these words without destroying their identity. 



mad 


arch 


hast 


quart 


spotted 


dotted 


sob 


% 


odd 


what 


lately 


basely 


will 


nod 


big 


land 


blunder 


sadden 


orb 


heart 


charm 


debt 


letter 


trouble 


gait 


graft 


ran 


might 


thunder 


madder 



94 brown's standard elocution 

emphasis. 

Emphasis is that peculiar utterance of words, phrases and 
clauses which renders them especially prominent or significant. 

i. The importance of Emphasis in determining the mean- 
ing of a sentence may be inferred from an examination of the 
following sentence which, by placing the emphasis upon the 
marked words, is capable of expressing seven different mean- 
ings : 

4. John did not say you bought that book; Henry said so. 

2. John did not say you bought that book ; he wrote it. 

3. John did not say yon bought that book; but that your 
sister bought it. 

4. John did not say you bought that book; but that you 
found it. 

5. John did not say you bought that book; but this book. 

6. John did not say you bought that book; it was your 
slate. 

7. John did not say you bought that book ; he said nothing. 

2. Emphasis is effected by a change of quality, force, 
stress, pitch, sliding, waves, movement, or quantity, or by 
lengthening the pauses. Usually two or more of these elements 
are employed to produce the required emphasis. 

3. Perfect command of every variety of emphasis depends 
upon an accurate perception of the sentiment and its relation to, 
and connection with, every other thought with which it is asso- 
ciated, and skill in the control of all the elements of vocal 
expression previously explained. 

4. The most common method of applying emphasis is by 
an increase of force, but that is by no means the only method. 
Pupils should guard against its use where it would not be indi- 
cated by the sentiment. Many instructors teach their pupils 
that "Emphasis is an increase of force." It is not always an 



AND SPEAKER 95 

increase of force. The etymology of the word signifies "to 
show," "to indicate;" and emphasis may be shown by diminish- 
ing the force as well as by increasing it. It may be shown by 
raising or lowering the pitch, and by accelerating or retarding 
the movement. 

GENERAL LAWS GOVERNING EMPHASIS. 

i. The subject, predicate and object in sentences much in- 
volved usually receive slight emphasis ; as, 

Maud Midler, on a summer's day. 
Raked the meadow sweet with hay. 

2. All words introducing new ideas are moderately em- 
phasized; as, 

"He mounted into literature from the moment that he fell." 

3. Words expressing contrasts or antithesis are emphatic; 
as, 

The sweetest pleasure is that of imparting pleasure. 
The noblest mind the best contentment has. 
Love lights more fires than hate extinguishes. 

4. All words which seem to contain the principal ideas of 
the thought should be indicated by emphasis ; as, 

"The crear conception, outrunning the deductions of logic, 
the high purpose, the firm resolve, the dauntless spirit, speak- 
ing on the tongue, beaming from the eye, informing every feat- 
ure, and urging the whole man onward, right onward to his 
object — this, this is eloquence ; or rather, it is something greater 
and higher than all eloquence — it is action, noble, sublime, god- 
like action." 

5. In repetition each succeeding word receives greater 
force than the word preceding ; as, 



96 brown's standard elocution 

Strike — till the last armed foe expires ; 
Strike — for your altars and your fires; 
STRIKE — for the green graves of your sires ; 
God and your native land. 

Note. — This rule applies also to cumulative emphasis ; as, 

Forward, the Light Brigade! 
CHARGE FOR THE GUNS ! 

6. The intensity of absorbing emotions is best shown by 
emphasis efifected by pauses; as, 

"He shudders — gasps — Jove help him — so, — he's dead!" 

7. Words of exclamation usually require the strongest 
emphasis ; as, 

"Hence! horrible shadow! 
Unreal mockery, hence ! 

Note. — Even when one member of the antithesis is omitted 
the expressed member is made emphatic ; as, 

"An attentive student would not make such blunders. " 



exercises in emphasis. 

Quality: — 

I hate him for he is a Christian. (Guttural.) 

Give me liberty or give me death? (Aspirate.) 

Quoth the raven, "Nevermore" (Pectoral.) 

And the sisters, they murmured, "For Shame!" (Falsetto.) 

Force: — 

I repeat it, sir, the charge is false. (Increase.) 
But on the way it burst, it fell; and lo! 
A skeleton! (A decrease of force.) 



AND SPEAKER 97 

Stress: — 

Back to thy punishment, false fugitive. (Radical.) 
Softly sleep and breathe the odors sweet. (Median.) 
Fret till your proud heart break. (Final.) 
Must I budge? Must / observe you? (Compound.) 
Charge for the guns! Charge! (Thorough.) 
May God forgive me: I have been to blame. (Intermit- 
tent.) 

Pitch:— 

"It snows!" cries the school-boy. "Hurrah!" and his shout. 
Is ringing through parlor and hall. (Raising of pitch.) 
Read on her urn, "A broken heart!' 
This tells her tale. (Lowering of Pitch.) 

Movement: — 

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you — 
trippingly on the tongue. (Fast.) 

There on a snow-white couch, 

Lay his two sons, pale, pale and motionless. (Slow.) 

Pause: — 

The old, old fashion — Death. 

MISCELLANEOUS EXERCISES IN EMPHASIS. 

By a proper application of emphasis find the true meaning 
of the following sentences : 

1. Mr. Davis told John to saddle his horse, and John sad- 
dled him. 

2. The dog would have died if they hadn't cut off his head. 

3. A fellow in a market town most musical cries razors up 
and doivn. 

4. Now, therefore, the said witness (says the said 
Thomas) is a thief. 



98 brown's standard elocution 

5. He had a patient lying at Death's door, 

Some three miles from the town, it might be four. 

6. A man who is in the daily use of ardent spirits, if he 
doesn't become a drunkard, is in danger of losing his health 
and character. 

7. O, fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the proph- 
ets have written of me. 

8. Hang out our banners on the outward wall ; 
The cry is "Still they come." 

9. A man going to sea, his wife desired the prayers of the 
congregation. 



SLUR. 

Slur is a smooth, rapid, subdued movement of voice over 
certain words, phrases and clauses of less importance than 
others with which they stand associated. 

The object of Slur is to bring out the principal thought of 
a passage as contained in the leading clause by a subdued force 
and rapid movement over the subordinate, or auxiliary clauses. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Slur is applied to passages expressing contrast, repeti- 
tion, explanation, modifications of persons, things, time, place, 
cause, manner and degree, and all parenthetical expressions. 

Note. — Let the student place curves around slurred pas- 
sages in the following selection and read correctly : 



The Worth of Eloquence. 

1. Let us not, gentlemen, undervalue the art of the orator. 
Of all the efforts of the human mind, it is the most astonishing 
in its nature and the most transcendent in its immediate 



AND SPEAKER 99 

triumphs. The wisdom of the philosopher, the eloquence of 
the historian, the sagacity of the statesman, the capacity of 
the general, may produce more lasting effects upon human 
affairs, but they are incomparably less rapid in their influence 
and less intoxicating from the ascendancy they confer. 

2. In the solitude of his library, the sage meditates on the 
truths which are to influence the thoughts and direct the con- 
duct of men in future times; amid the strife of faction, the 
legislator discerns the measures calculated, after a long course 
of years, to alleviate existing evils or produce happiness yet 
unborn ; during long and wearisome campaigns, the commander 
throws his shield over the fortunes of his country, and pre- 
pares, in silence and amid obloquy, the means of maintaining 
its independence. But the triumphs of the orator are im- 
mediate ; his influence is instantly felt ; his, and his alone, it is, 

"The applause of listening senates to command, 
The threats of pain and ruin to despise, 
To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, 
And read his history in a nation's eyes." 

3. "I can conceive/' says Cicero, "of no accomplishment 
more to be desired than to be able to captivate the affections, 
charm the understanding, and direct or restrain, at pleasure, 
the will of whole assemblies." This single art, amongst every 
free people, has commanded every encouragement and been 
attended with the most surprising effects ; for what can be more 
astonishing than that from an immense multitude one man 
should come forth, the only, or almost the only, man who 
can do what nature has made attainable by all ? Or, can any 
thing impart to the ears and the understanding a pleasure so 
pure as a discourse which at once delights by its elocution, 
enlists the passions by its rhetoric, and carries captive the con- 
viction by its logic ? 

4. What triumph more noble and magnificent than that 



100 brown's standard elocution 

of the eloquence of one man swaying the inclinations of the 
people, the consciences of judges and the majesty of senates? 
Nay, further: can aught be esteemed so grand, so generous, 
so public-spirited, as to relieve the suppliant, to raise up the 
prostrate, to communicate happiness, to avert danger, to save 
a fellow-citizen from exile and wrong? Can aught be more 
desirable than to have always ready those weapons with which 
we can at once defend the weak, assail the profligate, and re- 
dress our own or our country's injuries? 

5. Apart from the utility of this art in the forum, the 
rostrum, the senate, and on the bench, can any thing, in 
retirement from business, be more delightful, more socially 
endearing, than a language and elocution agreeable and pol- 
ished on every subject? For the great characteristic of our 
nature, that which distinguishes us from brutes, is our capacity 
of social intercourse, our ability to convey our ideas by words. 
Ought it not, then, to be pre-eminently our study to excel man- 
kind in that very faculty which constitutes their superiority 
over brutes? 

6. Upon the eloquence and spirit of an accomplished orator 
may often depend, not only his own dignity, but also the wel- 
fare of a government; nay, of a people. Go on, then, ye who 
would attain this inestimable art. Ply the study you have in 
hand, pursue it with singleness of purpose, at once for your 
own honor, for the advantage of your friends, and for the serv- 
ice of your country 



QUALITY OF VOICE. 

The term Quality of Voice is applied to the nature, charac- 
ter, or kind of tone used. 

Quality of voice is wholly independent of force, stress, or 
pitch. Its distinguishing characteristic is the place of reverbera- 
tion or resonance. This depends upon the state of mind or 



AND SPEAKER 101 

physical condition of the speaker. Hence, the quality em- 
ployed becomes a valuable aid in the portrayal of thought, senti- 
ment, and emotion. 

Eight qualities of the voice are commonly recognized, 
namely : 

PURE TONE PLAINTIVE GUTTURAL NASAL 

OROTUND PECTORAL ASPIRATE FALSETTO. 

PURE TONE. 

The Pure Tone is a clear, pure, smooth, round, musical 
tone, the reverberations being confined wholly within the 
mouth. 

In its production, all the breath employed is converted into 
tone free from aspiration and harshness. 

The Pure Tone is illustrated in nature by the joyous songs 
of birds and the merry ringing laugh and gleeful tones of chil- 
dren. 

DIRECTIONS FOR SECURING PURE TONE. 

Shape the mouth and lips in such a manner as to form the 
sound of oo in ooze, the tongue lying low and concave upper- 
most so as to form the largest mouth cavity. Utter the sound 
of oo several times with your conversational pitch. 

To test the purity of tone, while practicing, place the back 
of the hand within three inches of the mouth. If any air is 
felt to strike the hand your tone is not pure. Purse the lips 
less and repeat. 

PURE TONE. 







Exercises: 




eve 


aim 


vain heel 


moan 


ale 


air 


here home 


breathe 



LAW OF USE. 

The Pure tone is used in the expression of pathos and ten- 



102 brown's standard elocution 

derness, in solemn, serious, tranquil, narrative, didactic, and 
descriptive thought, in calling, and in joyous and mirthful emo- 
tions. 



The Three Cherry-Stones. 

Narration and Description. 

Narrative and descriptive, appealing to the fancy, senti- 
ment, and imagination. It requires, according to the vivid- 
ness of the thought or scene, great variety of slides, portraying 
the constantly changing picture and development of incident. 
Use a pure tone and conversational style. 

1. Three young gentlemen, who had finished the most sub- 
stantial part of their repast, were lingering over their fruit 
and wine at a tavern in London, when a man of middle age, 
and middle stature, entered the public room where they were 
sitting, seated himself at one end of a small unoccupied table 
and, calling the waiter, ordered a simple mutton chop and a 
glass of ale. 

2. His appearance, at first view, was not likely to arrest 
the attention of any one. His hair was beginning to be thin 
and gray ; the expression of his countenance was sedate, with 
a slight touch of perhaps, melancholy; and he wore a gray 
surtout with a standing collar, which manifestly had seen 
service, if the wearer had not, — just such a thing as an officer 
would bestow upon his serving man. He might be taken, 
plausibly enough, for a country magistrate, or an attorney of 
limited practice, or a school-master. 

3. He continued to masticate his chop and sip his ale in 
silence, without lifting his eyes from the table, until a cherry- 
stone, sportively snapped from the thumb and finger of one of 
the gentlemen at the opposite table, struck him upon his right 
ear. He eye was instantly upon the aggressor, and his ready 
intelligence gathered from the ill-suppressed merriment of the 
party that this petty impertinence was intentional. 

4. The stranger stooped, and picked up the cherry-stone 
and a scarcely perceptible smile passed over his features as he 
carefully wrapped it up in a piece of paper, and placed it in 



AND SPEAKER 103 

his pocket. This singular procedure, with their preconceived 
impressions of their customer, somewhat elevated as the young 
gentlemen were by the wine they had partaken of, capsized 
their gravity entirely, and a burst of irresistible laughter pro- 
ceeded from the group. 

5. Unmoved by this rudeness, the stranger continued to 
finish his frugal repast in quiet, until another cherry-stone, 
from the same hand, struck him upon the right elbow. This 
also, to the infinite amusement of the other party, he picked 
from the floor, and carefully deposited with the first. 

6. Amidst shouts of laughter, a third cherry-stone was 
soon after discharged, which hit him upon the left breast. This 
also he very deliberately took from the floor, and deposited 
with the other two. 

7. As he rose, and was engaged in paying for his repast, 
the gaiety of these sporting gentlemen became slightly subdued. 
It was not easy to account for this. Lavater w 7 ould not have 
been able to detect the slightest evidence of irritation or resent- 
ment upon the features of the stranger. He seemed a little 
taller, to be sure, and the carriage of his head might have 
appeared to them rather more erect. He walked to the table 
at which they were sitting, and, with that air of dignified calm- 
ness which is a thousand times more terrible than wrath, drew 
a card from his pocket, and presented it with perfect civility 
to the offender, who could do no less than ofifer his own in 
return. 

8. While the stranger unclosed his surtout, to take the card 
from his pocket, they had a glance at the undress coat of a 
military man. The card disclosed his rank, and a brief in- 
quiry at the bar was sufficient for the rest. He was a captain 
whom ill health and long service had entitled to half -pay. In 
earlier life he had been engaged in several afifairs of honor, 
and, in the dialect of the fancy, was a dead shot. 

9. The next morning a note arrived at the aggressor's 
residence, containing a challenge, in form, and one of the 
cherry-stones. The truth then flashed before the challenged 
party, — it was the challenger's intention to make three bites 
at this cherry, three separate afifairs out of this unwarrantable 
frolic ! The challenge was accepted, and the challenged party, 
in deference to the challenger's reputed skill with the pistol, 
had half decided upon the small sword; but his friends, who 



104 brown's standard elocution 

were on the alert, soon discovered that the captain, who had 
risen by his merit, had, in the earlier days of his necessity, 
gained his bread as an accomplished instructor in the use of 
that weapon. 

10. They met, and fired alternately, by lot; the young man 
had selected this mode, thinking he might win the first fire. 
He did — fired, and missed his opponent. The captain leveled 
his pistol and fired — the ball passed through the flap of the 
right ear, and grazed the bone ; and, as the wounded man in- 
voluntarily put his hand to the place, he remembered that it 
was on the right ear of his antagonist that the cherry-stone 
had fallen. Here ended the first lesson. A month had passed. 
His friends cherished the hope that he would hear nothing 
more from the captain, when another note — a challenge of 
course — and another of those ominous cherry-stones arrived, 
with the captain's apology, on the score of ill-health, for not 
sending it before. 

11. Again they met — fired simultaneously, and the captain, 
who was unhurt, shattered the right elbow of his antagonist, — 
the very point upon which he had been struck with the cherry- 
stone; and here ended the second lesson. There was some- 
thing awfully impressive in the modus operandi, and exquisite 
skill of his antagonist. The third cherry-stone was still in his 
possession, and the aggressor had not forgotten that it had 
struck the unoffending gentleman upon the left breast. A 
month had passed — another — and another, of terrible suspense ; 
but nothing was heard from the captain. Intelligence had been 
received that he was confined to his lodging by illness. 

12. At length the gentleman who had been his second in 
the former duels once more presented himself, and tendered 
another note, which, as the recipient perceived on taking it, 
contained the last of the cherry-stones. The note was super- 
scribed in the captain's well-known hand, but it was the writ- 
ing evidently of one who wrote feebly. There was an unusual 
solemnity also in the manner of him who delivered it. The 
seal was broken, and there was the cherry-stone in a blank 
envelope. 

"And what, sir, am I to understand by this?" inquired the 
aggressor. 

"You will understand, sir, that my friend forgives you — 
he is dead !" 



and speaker 105 

God's Beautiful City. 

13. F. TAYLOR. 

Solemnity. 

Solemnity requires nearly the same elements of expression 
as Pathos, with lower pitch and slower movement of voice — 
the greater the solemnity the lower the pitch and the slower 
the movement. Let the waves be full and impressive, the 
quality pure and round and free from affectations. God's 
Beautiful City is very suitable for a closing piece. 

1. Far, far away, amid realms of light, 
Hid deep in the azure beyond our sight, 
Stands a beautiful city so high and bright, 
Where is known no sorrow, nor death nor night. 

Beautiful City ! 
Oh, blest abode, oh, home of God ! 
Whose streets by the feet of the sinless are trod. 

2. They roam through the gardens of endless spring, 
They crowd all thy portals, on rushing wing, 
While the echoing domes of the palace ring 
With the hymns of the angels that shout and sing. 

Beautiful City! 
Hark ! hark again ! the angelic strain, 
As gleams through the crystal, that burnished train. 

3. There the life-fires brighten, and burn, and roll. 
O'er diamonds that sparkle o'er sands of gold, 
Where to breathe the sweet air yields a bliss untold, 
And the dwellers immortal shall never grow old. 
We pierce the skies with longing eyes, 

And yearn to inherit the golden prize. 

4. It is said that the King, in his power sublime, 
When the last sands drop from the glass of time, 
And our world shall be robed in its Eden prime, 
Will bring down that city to gladden earth's clime. 

Beautiful City ! 
Bright capital where saints shall dwell, 
And reign on the throne with Immanuel. 



106 brown's standard elocution 

5. I have heard in that city they wait for me ; 
That its gates stand open wide and free ; 
That the ransomed the King in his beauty may see, 
And live in his presence eternally. 

O, Beautiful City! 
In royal state blest mansions wait, 
And beckon us on through the pearly gate. 



A Happy Young Girl. 

EUGENE J. HALL. 

Gay, joyous and mirthful emotions arise from any unusual 
mental or physical exaltation, and their effective delivery re- 
quires great vocal flexibility, as varied pitch, force and move- 
ment and the skillful use of slides and waves. 

1. I wonder if, under the beautiful sky, 

There's a good looking girl that is gladder than I ? 
I'm merry, for Jerry has promised for life 
To take me and make me his fond little wife. 

He called me his honey, 

O, wasn't it funny, 
My face in my apron I bashfully hid. 

I said I was willing, 

I didn't look chilling, 
And Jerry looked tickled to pieces, he did ! 

I'm happy, ha ! ha ! 

I'm tickled, he ! he ! 
There's nobody living more merry than me. 
I wonder if, under the beautiful sky, 
There's a good looking girl that is gladder than I ? 

2. Up nigher the fire the sofa we drew, 

And we talked of the future as true lovers do. 
Twas splendid ; he tended the bright fire for me 
Till the awful old clock in the corner struck three. 

Nobody was stirring, 

The old cat was purring. 



AND SPEAKER 107 

The curtain was down and the keyholes were closed ; 

And, somehow, he kissed me, 

lie could not resist me, 
And that's how it happened that Jerry proposed. 

Tin happy, ha ! ha! 

1 'm tickled, he ! he ! 
There's nobody living more merry than me. 
1 wonder if, under the beautiful sky, 
There's a good looking girl that is gladder than I ? 



To-Day. 
carpenter. 



The expression of didactic thought is addressed to the judg- 
ment and reason through the intellect; and while fewer vocal 
embellishments are required than in description and narration, 
the logical connection of terms and accuracy of statement de- 
mand the utmost precision of utterance and purity of tone, 
Deliver with sincere earnestness. 

1. Don't tell me of to-morrow; 

Give me the man who'll say, 
That, when a good deed's to be done, 

"Let's do the deed to-day." 
We may all command the present, 

If we act and never wait; 
But repentance is the phantom 

Of a past that comes too late! 

2. Don't tell me of to-morrow; 

There is much to do to-day 
That can never be accomplished 

If we throw the hours away; 
Every moment has its duty; 

Who the future can foretell? 
Why put off until to-morrow 

What to-day can do as well ? 



108 brown's standard elocution 

3. Don't tell me of to-morrow; 

If we look upon the past, 
How much that we have left to do 

We cannot do at last ! 
To-day it is the only time 

For all upon the earth ; 
It takes an age to form a life — 

A moment gives it birth ! 



Death of Little Paul. 

charles dickens. 

Pathos is designed to awaken in the hearer emotions of 
sympathy for the person or object represented. The require- 
ments are a clear conception of the conditions described, genu- 
ine sympathy, purity of tone, and effusive utterance of the 
particularly expressive words. The slides and waves rarely 
reach the note of a third. The rising slide prevails in the 
more intensely pathetic parts. Avoid anything like "show" — ■ 
be natural. 

1. Little Dombey had never risen from his little bed. He 
lay there, listening to the noises in the street, quite tranquilly ; 
not caring much how the time went, but watching it and 
watching everything. 

2. When the sunbeams struck into his room through the 
rustling blinds, and quivered on the opposite wall, like golden 
water, he knew that evening was coming on, and that the sky 
was red and beautiful. As the reflection died away, and a 
gloom went creeping up the wall, he watched it deepen, deepen, 
deepen into night. Then he thought how the long unseen 
streets were dotted with lamps, and how the peaceful stars 
were shining overhead. His fancy had a strange tendency to 
wander to the river, which he knew was flowing through the 
great city ; and now he thought how black it was, and how deep 
it would look reflecting the hosts of stars ; and, more than all, 
how steadily it rolled away to meet the sea. 



AND SPEAKER 109 

3. k Tloy! What is that?" 
"Where, dearest ?" 

"There ! at the bottom of the bed." 
"There's nothing there, except papa!" 

The figure lifted up its head and rose, and, coming to the 
bedside, said : 

4. "My own boy ! Don't you know me?" 

Paul looked it in the face. Before he could reach out both 
his hands to take it between them and draw it towards him, 
the figure turned away quickly from the little bed, and went 
out at the door. 

The next time he observed the figure sitting at the bottom 
of the bed, he called to it. 

"Don't be so sorry for me, dear papa. Indeed, I am quite 
happy !" 

5. His father coming and bending down to him, he held 
him round the neck, and repeated these words to him several 
times, and very earnestly; and he never saw his father in his 
room again at any time, whether it were day or night, but he 
called out, "Don't be so sorry for me! Indeed, I am quite 
happy !" 

6. How many times the golden water danced upon the 
wall, how many nights the dark river rolled towards the sea in 
spite of him, Paul never sought to know. 

7. One night he had been thinking of his mother and her 
picture in the drawing room down stairs. The train of thought 
suggested to him to inquire if he had ever seen his mother. 
For he could not remember whether they had told him yes 
or no, the river running very fast, and confusing his mind. 

8. "Floy, did I ever see mamma?" 
"No, darling; why?" 

"Did I never see any kind face, like a mamma's, looking 
at me when I was a baby, Floy?" 
"O yes, dear!" 
"Whose, Floy?" 
"Your old nurse's. Often." 

9. "And where is my old nurse? Show me that old nurse, 
Floy, if you please !" 

"She is not here, darling. She shall come to-morrow." 
"Thank you, Floy!" 



110 brown's standard elocution 

io. Little Dombey closed his eyes with these vvo<vfs, and 
fell asleep. When he awoke the sun was high, and thr, broad 
day was clear and warm. Then he awoke, — woke mind and 
body, — and sat upright in his bed. He saw them now about 
him. There was no gray mist before them, as there had 
been sometimes in the night. He knew them every one, and 
called them by their names. 

ii. "And who is this? Is this my old nurse!" asked the 
child, regarding, with a radiant smile, a figure coming in. 

Yes, yes. No other stranger would have shed those tears 
at sight of him, and called him her dear boy, her pretty boy, 
her own poor blighted child. No other woman would have 
stooped down by his bed, and taken up his wasted hand, and 
put it to her lips and breast, as one who had some right to 
fondle it. No other woman would have so forgotten every- 
body there but him and Floy, and been so full of tenderness 
and pity. 

12. "Floy! this is a kind, good face! I am glad to see it 
again. Don't go away, old nurse. Stay here! Good by!" 

"Good by, my child?" cried Mrs. Pipchin, hurrying to his 
bed's head. "Not good by?" 

"Ah, yes! Good by! — Where is papa?" 

13. His father's breath was on his cheek before the words 
had parted from his lips. The feeble hand waved in the air, 
as if it cried "Good by !" again. 

"Now lay me down ; and, Floy, come close to me, and let 
me see you." 

14. Sister and brother wound their arms around each 
other, and the golden light came streaming in, and fell upon 
them, locked together. 

"How fast the river runs, between its green banks and the 
rushes, Floy ! But, it's very near the sea now. I hear the 
waves ! They always said so !" 

15. Presently he told her that the motion of the boat upon 
the stream was lulling him to rest. Now the boat was out at 
sea. And now there was a shore before him. Who stood on 
the bank ! — 

16. "Mamma is like you, Floy. I know her by the face !" 
The golden ripple on the wall came back again, and noth- 
ing else stirred in the room. The old, old fashion! The 



AND SPEAKER 111 

fashion that came in with our first garments, and will last 
unchanged until our race has run its course, and the wide 
firmament is rolled up like a scroll. The old, old fashion, — 
Death. 

17. Oh, thank God, all who see it, for that older fashion 
yet, of Immortality ! And look upon us, angels of young chil- 
dren, with regards not quite estranged, when the swift river 
bears us to the ocean. 



OROTUND QUALITY. 

The Orotund is the Pure Tone deepened and intensified to 
its utmost magnitude, with the resonance in the chest. 

The Orotund is so called in allusion to its roundness and 
fullness of tone. It is the voice of grandeur, emanating from 
the loftiest emotions which animate the soul. It is esteemed 
the highest perfection of human utterance, and, while natur- 
ally possessed by few, it may be cultivated by all. Both the 
Orotund and Pure Tone should possess mellowness, sweet- 
ness, sympathy, attractiveness, smoothness and penetrating 
power. 

DIRECTIONS FOR ACQUIRING OROTUND QUALITY. 

Stand erect, depress and enlarge the larynx as if trying to 
swallow some large object. Prolong the sound of a in awe, 
using medium low pitch. Hold the organs firmly as directed, 
but avoid any constriction of the muscle about the throat and 
neck. 

Xote. — The student is cautioned against attempting the 
grand, swelling orotund in the opening parts of declamations 
and orations. 

Modes of Utterance. — The Orotund may be uttered ef- 
fusively, expulsively or explosively. 



112 



brown's standard elocution 







EXERCISES : 








Effusive Orotund. 




awe 


home 


roll ah 


arm 


old 


ooze 


thou soul 


all 


rain 


shore 


child grand 


borne 



1. Roll on, old Ocean gray ! 

2. Thy chains the unmeasured universe surround ! 



Expulsive Orotund. 



hail heart hand time 


earth 


brave blood cause stain 


shame 


war roar joy storm 


stand 


I. Our faith is in God and the right. 





Explosive Orotund. 



shriek 


clang 


clash 


mock 


down 


day 


struck 


base 


out 


hence 


men 


rouse 


die 


torn 


lash 



i. Back, ruffians, back! nor dare to tread. 
2. Too near the body of my dead ! 

LAW OF USE. 



The Orotund quality is employed in the expression of 
emotions of grandeur, sublimity, reverence, adoration, devotion, 
azve; in earnest, bold, grand, and lofty thought; in abrupt and 
startling emotions of daring, warning, courage, inspiration and 
in the fierce outbursts of passion. 



and speaker 113 

Apostrophe to the Ocean, 
lord byron. 

Effuskc Orotund. 

The rendition of the more profound emotions of grandeur, 
sublimity, reverence, adoration and awe demands a full, deep, 
sonorous, effusive orotund, with long quantity, low pitch and 
slow movement, free from all impurity of tone and abrupt 
slides and waves. 

The following poem will furnish an excellent exercise for 
cultivating the deep and flowing orotund : 

i. Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! 
Ten thousand fleets sweep over thee in vain ; 
Man marks the earth with ruin; his control 

Stops with the shore ; upon the watery plain 
The wrecks are all thy deed, nor doth remain 

A shadow of man's ravage, save his own, 
When, for a moment, like a drop of rain, 

He sinks into thy depths with bubbling groan, 
Without a grave, unknelled, uncoffined and unknown. 

2. The armaments which thunderstrike the w 7 alls 

Of rock-built cities, bidding nations quake, 
And monarchs tremble in their capitols, 

The oak leviathans whose huge ribs make, 
Their clay creator the vain title take 

Of lord of thee, and arbiter of war; — 
These are thy toys, and, as the snowy flake. 

They melt into thy yeast of waves, which mar 
Alike the Armada's pride or spoils of Trafalgar. 

3. Thy shores are empires, changed in all save thee ; 

Assyria, Greece, Rome, Carthage, what are they? 
Thy waters wasted them while they were free, 
And many a tyrant since ; their shores obey 



114 BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 

The stranger, slave or savage; their decay 
Has dried up realms to deserts ; not so thou, 

Unchangeable, save to thy wild waves' play; 
Time writes no wrinkle on thine azure brow ; 

Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now. 

4. Thou glorious mirror, where the Almighty's form 

Glasses itself in tempests; in all time, 
Calm or convulsed — in breeze, or gale, or storm — 

Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime 
Dark-heaving; boundless, endless and sublime — 

The image of eternity — the throne 
Of the invisible; even from out thy slime 

The monsters of the deep are made; each zone 
Obeys thee ; thou goest forth, dread, fathomless, alone ! 

5. And I have loved thee, Ocean ! and my joy 

Of youthful sports was on thy breast to be 
Borne, like thy bubbles, onward; from a boy 

I wantoned with thy breakers ; they to me 
Were a delight; and if the freshening sea 

Made them a terror, 'twas a pleasing fear 
For I was, as it were, a child of thee, 

And trusted to thy billows far and near, 
And laid my hand upon thy main, as I do here. 
For additional practice in Effusive Orotund study the fourth 
stanza of "The Bells, ,, "Break, Break, Break." 



The National Banner, 
edward everett. 

Expulsiz'c Orotund. 

The expression of earnest, bold, grand, and elevated 
thought, termed oratorical style, requires a strong expulsive 
orotund, with full force and deliberate movement. To ef- 
fectively produce the vigorous, compact tones required in the 



AND SPEAKER 115 

oratorical style of delivery, strike each important word with an 
energetic expulsion of air. This is accomplished by a vigorous 
inward and upward action of the abdominal muscles. This 
selection is well adapted for securing that fullness of volume 
peculiar to the orotund. Much time may profitably be given to 
the drill. 

i. All hail to our glorious ensign! courage to the heart 
and strength to the hand, to which, in all time, it shall be 
instructed ! May it ever wave in honor, in unsullied glory, 
and patriotic hope on the dome of the capitol, on the country's 
stronghold, on the entented plain, on the wave-rocked topmast. 

2. Wherever, on the earth's surface, the eye of the 
American shall behold it, may he have reason to bless it ! On 
whatsoever spot it is planted, there may freedom have a foot- 
hold, humanity a brave champion, and religion an altar! 
Though stained with blood in a righteous cause may it never 
in any cause be stained with shame ! 

3. Alike, when its gorgeous folds shall wanton in lazy hol- 
iday triumphs on the summer breeze, and its tattered frag- 
ments be dimly seen through the clouds of war, may it be the 
joy and pride of the American heart ! First raised in the cause 
of right and liberty, in that cause alone may it forever spread 
out its streaming blazonry to the battle and the storm ! Hav- 
ing been borne victoriously across the continent and on every 
sea, may virtue and freedom and peace forever follow where it 
leads the way ! 

For additional examples read "Ambition of a Statesman," 
"Spartacus to the Gladiators," "Apostrophe to the English 
Language,'' "Brutus on the Death of Caesar/' 



Marmiox and Douglas. 

sir walter scott. 

Explosive Orotund. 

The delivery of all startling emotions of hurry, fear, terror, 
indignation, defiance requires the explosive orotund w r ith full 



116 brown's standard elocution 

force and high and very high pitch. Let the tones be sharp, 
ringing, clear and incisive. In the following selection only the 
impassioned speeches of Marmion and Douglas are uttered 
with explosive orotund. 

i. Not far advanced was morning day, 
When Marmion did his troop array, 

To Surrey's camp to ride ; 
He had safe conduct for his band, 
Beneath the royal seal and hand, 

And Douglas gave a guide. 

2. The train from out the castle drew, 
But Marmion stopped to bid adieu : 
"Though something I might plain," he said, 

"Of cold respect to stranger guest, 
Sent hither by the king's behest, 
While in Tantallon's towers I staid, 
Part we in friendship from your land, 
And, noble Earl, receive my hand." 
But Douglas round him drew his cloak, 
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke : 

"My manors, halls, and towers shall still 
Be open, at my sovereign's will, 
To each one whom he lists, howe'er 
Unmeet to be the owner's peer. 
My castles are my king's alone, 
From turret to foundation stone ; 
The hand of Douglas is his own ; 
And never shall, in friendly grasp, 
The hand of such as Marmion clasp." 

3. Burned Marmion's swarthy cheek like fire, 
And shook his very frame for ire ; 

And "This to me," he said, 
"An 't were not for thy hoary beard, 
Such hand as Marmion's had not spared 

To cleave the Douglas' head ! 
And, first I tell thee, haughty peer, 
He, who does England's message here, 



AND SPEAKER 117 

Although the meanest in her state, 
May well, proud Angus, be thy mate: 
And, Douglas, more, I tell thee here, 

E'en in thy pitch of pride, 
Here, in thy hold, thy vassals near, 

I tell thee, thou'rt defied! 
And if thou said'st, I am not peer 
To any lord in Scotland here 
Lowland or Highland, far or near, 

Lord Angus, thou — hast — lied !" 

4. On the Earl's cheek, the flush of rage 
O'ercame the ashen hue of age: 

Fierce he broke forth ; "And dar'st thou then 
To beard the lion in his den, 

The Douglas in his hall? 
And hopest thou thence unscathed to go ? 
No, by Saint Bride of Bothwell, No ! 
Up draw-bridge, grooms, — what, warder, ho ! 

Let the portcullis fall." 
Lord Marmion turned, — well was his need, — 
And dashed the rowels in his steed, 
Like arrow through the archway sprung ; 
The ponderous gate behind him rung. 
To pass there was such scanty room, 
The bars, descending, grazed his plume. 

5. The steed along the draw-bridge flies, 
Just as it trembled on the rise ; 

Not lighter does the swallow skim 

Along the smooth lake's level brim ; 

And when Lord Marmion reached his band 

He halts, and turns with clinched hand, 

And shout of loud defiance pours, 

And shook his gauntlet at the towers. 

For additional practice in Explosive Orotund study the 
seventh and tenth stanzas of "Revolutionary Rising" and the 
fourth stanza of "An American Exile." 



118 brown's standard elocution 

plaintive quality. 

The Plaintive, sometimes termed the semi-tone, or oral, 
is that quality of voice whose tones, sliding through a semi- 
tone or minor third, are uttered in a feeble, trembling tone, 
with the resonance in the forward part of the mouth. 

In the production of this quality the organs seem to labor 
under a painful effort; and, though it sometimes expresses 
the most exalted emotions, the weakness of the vocal organs 
or intensity of emotional sympathy prevents the conversion 
of all the breath used into tone, and the quality is therefore 
impure. 

directions for securing the plaintive quality. 

Draw in the cheeks so as to reduce the size of the reso- 
nance chamber of the mouth, gently compress the lips, and pro- 
long the sound of long o, in high pitch, with subdued force. 
This will give you the quality, when you can reproduce it in 
the exercises following. 

law of use. 

The Plaintive Quality is used with various degrees of force 
to express tenderness, sympathy, pathos, sadness, acute pain, 
feebleness of old age, grief, entreaty, complaint, exhaustion, 
languor and affectation. 

Caution. — The student is cautioned against using this 
quality in any case except where it may be proper. It should 
be used with discretion even where indicated, as its excessive. 
use is apt to run into a disagreeable whine, exciting ridicule 
instead of pity. 







exercises. 






ah 


head 


pray old 


wait 


you 


dead 


storm 


mine fair 


tomb 


name 



AND SPEAKER 



119 



Ah, how we loved her, God can tell. 

( )h ! tell me, is this death ! 

Give your children food, O Father! 

Oh, I could weep my spirit from mine eyes! 

death, wilt thou never come? 

1 have no pain, dear mother, now. 



Give Me Three Grains of Corn Mother. 

miss edwards, 

Begin with gentle, but earnest, pleading tones, and grad- 
ually merge into a tremulous, agitated stress until the last 
stanza, when approaching death requires a struggling, labored 
utterance, but with sufficient distinctness to render the words 
intelligible. This is an excellent piece for practice in the 
plaintive tones. 

i. Give me three grains of corn, mother, 

Only three grains of corn ; 
It will keep the little life I have, 

Till the coming of the morn. 
I am dying of hunger and cold, mother, 

Dying of hunger and cold, 
And half the agony of such a death 

My lips have never told. 



2. It has gnawed like a wolf, at my heart, mother, 

A wolf that is fierce for blood, — 
All the livelong day, and the night beside, 

Gnawing for lack of food. 
I dreamed of bread in my sleep, mother, 

And the sight was heaven to see ; 
I awoke with an eager, famishing lip, 

But you had no bread for me. 



120 brown's standard elocution 

3. How could I look to you, mother, 
For bread to give to your starving boy, 

When you were starving too ? 
For I read the famine in your cheek, 

And in your eye so wild, 
And I felt it in your bony hand 

As you laid it on your child. 

4. Come nearer to my side, mother, 
And hold me fondly as you held 

My father when he died ; 
Quick, for I cannot see you, mother, 

My breath is almost gone ; 
Mother ! dear mother ! ere I die, 

Give me three grains of corn. 

An excellent selection for additional practice in the prac- 
tice of the Plaintive is 'The Dying Boy." 



PECTORAL QUALITY. 

The Pectoral is a rough, harsh, hollow tone, with the reso- 
nance in the chest. 

1. The Pectoral is low in pitch and usually slow in move- 
ment. It arises from a debilitated or relaxed condition of the 
vocal cords and a feeble action of the respiratory muscles. 

2. It is exhibited in persons of little physical or mental 
energy and in those addicted to dissipation and intemperance. 

DIRECTIONS FOR PRODUCING THE PECTORAL. 

Relax the muscles about the throat and waist. Give the 
sound of long with low pitch, feeble voice and the utmost re- 
laxation of all the vocal organs. Let the tone be hollow and 
husky, somewhat resembling the grogan. 



and speaker 121 

exercises: 

ah oh home voice more grave 

die fall to-day pride heart vain 

Oh, the long and dreary winter! 

My dream was lengthened after life. 

Xow o'er the one-half world nature seems dead. 

Hear the tolling of the bells — iron bell-. 

Oh, I have passed a miserable night ! 



LAW OF USE. 



The Pectoral quality is used to express dread, sorrow, 
gloom, despair, grief, deep solemnity mingled with awe, re- 
morse, horror, settled hatred, malice, and in the representation 
of the supernatural. 

The Pectoral is usually formed effusively, but the speaker 
inflamed by the maligant passions frequently employs the ex- 
pulsive mode of utterance. 



David's Lament For Absalom. 

n. p. willis. 

The following poem furnishes a valuable drill for the 
expression of deep feeling. Be careful to enter into the senti- 
ment before attempting its portrayal. Avoid permitting the 
tones to anticipate the feeling. You must experience the emo- 
tion first — its expression is then possible. 

I. Alas ! my noble boy, that thou shouldst die ! 

Thou, who wert made to beautifully fair! 

That death should settle in thy glorious eye, 

And leave his stillness in this clustering hair ! 
How could he mark thee for the silent tomb, 
My proud boy, Absalom ! 



122 brown's standard elocution 

2. Cold is thy brow, my son, and I am chill, 

As to my bosom I have tried to press thee, 
How was I wont to feel my pulses thrill, 

Like a rich harp string, yearning to caress thee, 
And hear thy sweet 'my father' from these dumb 
And cold lips, Absalom ! 

3. The grave hath won thee. I shall hear the gush 

Of music, and the voices of the young, 
And life will pass me in its mantling blush, 

And the dark tresses to the soft winds flung, 
But thou no more, with thy sweet voice, shalt come 
To meet me, Absalom ! 

4. And, O ! when I am stricken, and my heart, 

Like a bruised reed, is waiting to be broken, 
How will its love for thee, as I depart, 

Yearn for thine ear to drink its last deep token ! 
It were so sweet, amid death's gathering gloom, 
To see thee, Absalom ! 

5. And now, farewell ! 'Tis hard to give thee up, 

With death, so like a gentle slumber, on thee ; 
And thy dark sin ! O ! I could drink the cup, 

If from this woe its bitterness had won thee. 
May God have called thee, like a wanderer home, 
My erring Absalom ! 

For other illustrations of Pectoral quality, see "Death Bed 
of Benedict Arnold," "The Miser's Death" and the fifth and 
seventh stanzas of "She Would be a Mason." 

GUTTURAL QUALITY. 

The Guttural (from guttur, throat) is a rough, harsh, 
grating, rasping, discordant sound, produced by a rigid com- 
pression of the muscles of the neck and a partial closing of the 
throat above the glottis, with the resonance in the throat. The 
quality resembles the growling utterances of the lower animals. 



AND SPEAKER 123 

i. The Guttural originates from an agitation of the most 
intense and malignant passions. The sound is cut off from 
communication with the chest by an obstructed throat, as in a 
person suffering from intense rage. The sound issues appar- 
ently from the pharynx, or swallow, instead of the larynx. 

2. The Guttural quality, in a modified form, is very prev- 
alent among persons with large, flaccid, vocal organs and in 
the aged. Its use, except in the expression of the malignant 
passions, should be carefully avoided. 

3. The practice of this quality is highly beneficial in 
strengthening the muscles of the throat. Its frequent employ- 
ment by actors and vocal teachers protects from many forms 
of throat disease. Boys and girls should practice the guttural 
moderately at first, discontinuing as soon as any unpleasant 
irritation is felt. 

DIRECTIONS FOR PRODUCING THE GUTTURAL QUALITY. 

Contract the muscles about the throat and neck and give 
the sound of a in ah, in a harsh, grating tone, as if endeavor- 
ing to clear the throat of an accumulation of phlegm. 



out 


3 .CO. 

howl 


heart 


die 


revenge 


growl 



hate rage 

mock away 

But I defy him, let him come! 
I scorn forgiveness, haughty man ! 
Curses on him! Will not the villain drown! 
How like a fawning publican he looks! 
I hate him, for he is a Christian! 



LAW OF USE. 

The Guttural quality, with various degrees of force, is used 
to express intense anger, hatred, contempt, disgust, scorn, 
loathing, malice and detestation. It may be given by any of the 
three modes of utterance, effusive, expulsive or explosive, ac- 
cording to the sentiment indicated. 



124 brown's standard elocution 

Shylock' s Reply. 

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 

Antonio, a merchant of Venice, had given a bond to Shy- 
lock, a wealthy Jew, for the payment of three thousand ducats, 
which sum Shylock had loaned to Antonio's friend, Bassanio. 
In default of payment it had been agreed that Shylock might 
claim a pound of flesh to be taken nearest the merchant's heart. 
Through a combination of circumstances Antonio fails to pay 
the bond when due, and the Jew demands the forfeit. Salanio 
endeavors to dissuade Shylock from exacting the penalty by 
explaining that a pound of human flesh has no marketable 
value, and ventures to ask to what use it can be put. Shylock, 
almost consuming with rage, answers in the following terms. 

This is one of the best exercises in the whole range of 
elocutionary models for strengthening the vocal organs. Give 
it daily attention for a month and mark the effect. 

Use full force and long quantity with great intensity on 
the italicized words. 

Hatred, Contempt, Detestation. 

Shylock: — To bait fish withal; if it will feed nothing else, 
it will feed my revenge. He hath disgraced me, and hindered 
me of half a million; laughed at my losses, mocked at my 
gains, scorned my nation, thwarted my bargains, cooled my 
friends, heated my enemies: and what's his reason? — I am a 
Jezv. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, 
dimensions, senses, affections, passions? — fed with the same 
food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, 
healed by the same means, zvarmed and cooled by the same 
winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we 
not bleed? — if you tickle us, do we not laugh? — if you poison 
us, do we not die? and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? 
If we are like you in the rest, we will resemble you in that. If 
a Jew wrong a Christian, what is his humility? revenge! If a 
Christian wrong a Jezv, what should his sufferance be by 



AND SPEAKER 125 

Christian example: 7 why, revenge! The villainy you teach me, 
I will execute! and it shall go hard, but I will better the in- 
struction. 

Other fine illustrations of Guttural quality are "Vagaries 
of a Madman," "Catiline's Defiance" and "The Seminole's 
Defiance." 

ASPIRATE QUALITY. 

The Aspirate quality is articulated breath, and ranges from 
a mere w T hisper to the least audible tones of the Plaintive, 
Pectoral and Guttural qualities. 

i. The true Aspirate is unmixed breath, but as the term 
is commonly used, it is combined with other abnormal qualities 
to aid their intensity of utterance. 

2. The practice of the Aspirate quality alone and in com- 
bination with other abnormal qualities, with full force, is highly 
beneficial in strengthening the'vocal organs. 

3. The daily practice of whispering a page or more of 
vigorous prose or poetry with full force and sufficient dis- 
tinctness to be heard across a large room will develop a greater 
depth and penetration of tone than any one exercise in which 
the student can engage. To secure the greatest benefit the 
articulation must be as nearly perfect as the student can com- 
mand. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Aspirate quality alone and in combination with other 
qualities is used to express secrecy, surprise, impatience, fear, 
caution, remorse, awe, dread, anger, rage, terror, horror and 
expiring life. 

exercises . 

1. Hist! Down with you heads! 

2. Hush ! Silence along the lines ! 

3. Not a word, on peril of your lives! 



126 brown's standard elocution 

4. Hark! I hear a knocking at the outer door! 

5. Angels and ministers of grace defend us ! 

6. Avaunt! and quit my sight ! Let the earth hide thee! 

7. Hence, horrible shadow ! Unreal mockery, hence! 



Macbeth's Vision. 

william shakespeare. 

Act II, Scene I. 

Macbeth, a powerful lord of Scotland, with a drawn dag- 
ger is stealthily approaching the chamber of king Duncan, his 
guest for the night, to murder the king, when, seized with fear 
and remorse, he imagines he sees a dagger suspended in the 
air before him. 

Begin with an excited whisper and gradually merge into a 
strongly vocalized aspirate. 

Few selections afford better practice in voice building 
than the following. Open the mouth freely and exaggerate the 
distinctness. 

1. Is this a dagger which I see before me, 

The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee : — 
I have thee not; and yet I see thee still. 
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 

To feeling, as to sight? or art thou but 

A dagger of the mind; a false creation, 
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? 

I see thee yet, in form as palpable 
As this which now I draw. 

2. Thou marshalYst me the way that I was going; 
And such an instrument I was to use. 

Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, 
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still; 



AND SPEAKER 127 

And on thy blade, and dudgeon, gouts of blood, 
Which was not so before. — There's no such thing; 
It is the bloody business, which informs 
Thus to mine eyes. 

3. Now o'er the one half world 

Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 
The curtained sleep; now witchcraft celebrates 
Pale Hecate's offerings; and withered murder, 
Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf, 
Whose howl's his watch, thus towards his design 
Moves like a ghost. 

4. Thou sure and firm-set earth, 

Hear not my steps, which way they zealk, for fear 

The very stones prate of my whereabout, 

And take the present horror from the time. 

Which now suits with it. — Whiles I threat, he lives; 

Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. 

I go, and it is done ; the bell invites me. [A bell rings. 

Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell 

That summons thee to heaven, or to hell 

XASAL QUALITY. 

The Nasal quality (from nasus, the nose) is a harsh, thin, 
twangy tone, with the resonance in the nose. 

1. The Xasal is an impure quality, because its production 
arises from some vocal disability, as a cold, or a mal- formation 
of the organs of speech. 

2. It is not a talking through the nose, as may be shown 
by the reader's clasping his nose with his fingers and attempting 
to read or speak in a pure tone. The quality which follows 
is the Xasal. 

3. The student will have no occasion to use the Nasal ex- 
cept in mimcry or burlesque; but a perfect command of all 
the qualities requires a drill upon this, both for the purpose of 
personation and avoiding its use where improper. 



128 brown's standard elocution 

direction for producing the nasal quality. 

Place the organs in position to pronounce the syllable on 
with high pitch; now depress the lower jaw and prolong the 
syllable ong, retaining the sound so as to cause the reverbera- 
tion to be heard in the back part of the mouth and nose. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Nasal quality is used in the mimicry of nasal speakers 
and in the personation of those suffering from colds. 

EXAMPLE. 

The birds can fly, an' why can't I ? 

Must we give in, says he, with a grin, 

To the bluebird an' Phebe as smarter'n we be? 

Just fold our hands an' see the swaller 

An' blackbird an' catbird beat us holler. 

Does the leetle chattering, sassy wren, 

No bigger'n my thumb, know more than men ? 

Just show me that, 'er prove 't bat 

Hez got more brains than's in my hat, 

An' I'll back down, an' not till then. 

— Darias Green and his Flying Machine. 



The Bewitched Clock. 

Use a clear, distinct pure tone in narration. The different 
speakers use the nasal quality. Distinguish the characters by 
difference in pitch and rate. 

1. About half-past eleven o'clock on Sunday night a 
human leg, enveloped in blue broadcloth, might have been seen 
entering Cephas Barberry's kitchen window. The leg was fol- 
lowed finally by the entire person of a lively Yankee, attired 
in his Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes. It was, in short, Joe 
Mayweed, who thus burglariously, in the dead of night, won 
his way into the deacon's kitchen. 

2. "Wonder how much the old deacon made by orderin' 



AND SPEAKER 129 

me not to darken his door again?" soliloquized the young man. 
"Promised him 1 wouldn't, but didn't say nothin' about winders. 
Winders is just as good as doors, if there ain't no nails to tear 
your trousers onto. Wonder if Sal'll come down. The crit- 
ter promised me. I'm afraid to move here, 'cause I might 
break my shins over somethin' or 'nother, and wake the old 
folks? Cold enough to freeze a polar bear here. Oh, here 
comes Sally. " 

3. The beautiful maiden descended with a pleasant smile, 
a tallow' candle and a box of matches. 

4. After receiving a rapturous greeting, she made a roar- 
ing fire in the cooking stove, and the happy couple sat down to 
enjoy the sweet interchange of views and hopes. But the 
course of true love ran no smoother in old Barberry's kitchen 
than it did elsewhere, and Joe, who was making up his mind 
to treat himself to a kiss, was startled by the voice of the 
deacon, her father, shouting from her chamber door : 

5. "Sally, what are you getting up in the middle of the 
night for ?" 

"Tell him it's most mornin' " whispered Joe. 

"I can't tell a fib," said Sally. 

"I'll make it a truth, then," said Joe, and running to the 
huge old-fashioned clock that stood in the corner, he set it at 
five. 

6. "Look at the clock and tell me what time it is," cried 
the old gentleman up-stairs. 

"It's five by the clock," answered Sally, and corroborating 
the words the clock struck five. 

The lovers sat down again, and resumed the conversation. 
Suddenly the stair case began to creak. 

"Good gracious ! it's father." 

"The deacon, by jingo!" cried Joe; "hide me, Sal!" 

"Where can I hide you ?" cried the distracted girl. 

7. "Oh, I know," said he; "I'll squeeze into the clock 
case." 

And without another word he concealed himself in the 
case, and drew to the door behind him. 

The deacon was dressed, and seating himself down by the 
cooking-stove pulled out his pipe, lighted it, and commenced 
smoking" very deliberately and calmly. 



180 brown's standard elocution 

8. "Five o'clock, eh?" said he. "Well, I shall have time 
to smoke three or four pipes ; then I'll go and feed the critters." 

"Hadn't you better go and feed the critters first sir, and 
smoke afterward?" suggested the dutiful Sally. 

"No; smoking clears my head and wakes me up," answered 
the deacon, who seemed not a whit disposed to hurry his en- 
joyment. 

9. Bur-r-r-r — whiz — z — ding — ding ! went the clock. 
"Tormented lightning!" cried the deacon, starting up and 

dropping his pipe on the stove. "What in creation is that?" 
Whiz ! ding ! ding ! ding ! went the old clock furiously. 
"It's only the clock striking five," said Sally tremulously. 

10. "Powers of mercy !" cried the deacon, "striking five ! 
It's struck a hundred already." 

"Deacon Barberry !" cried the deacon's better half, who 
had hastily robed herself, and now came plunging down the 
stair case in the wildest state of alarm, "what is the matter of 
the clock?" 

"Goodness only knows," replied the old man. 

"It's been in the family these hundred years, and never did 
I know it to carry on so before." 

Whiz ! bang ! bang ! bang ! went the clock. 

11. "It'll burst itself!" cried the old lady, shedding a flood 
of tears, "and there won't be nothing left of it." 

"It's bewitched," said the deacon, who retained a leaven 
of New England superstition in his nature. "Anyhow," he 
said, after a pause, advancing resolutely toward the clock, "I'll 
see what's got into it." 

"Oh, don't !" cried the daughter, affectionately, seizing one 
of his coat-tails, while his faithful wife hung to the other. 

"Don't," chorused both the women together. 

"Let go of my raiment!" shouted the deacon; "I ain't 
afraid of the powers of darkness." 

12. But the women would not let go ; so the deacon slipped 
off his coat, and while, from the sudden cessation of resistance, 
they fell heavily on the floor, he darted forward and laid his 
hand on the door of the clock case. But no human power could 
open it. Joe was holding it inside with a death-grasp. The 
deacon began to be dreadfully frightened. He gave one more 
tug. An unearthly yell, as of a fiend in distress, came from 



AND SPEAKER 131 

the inside, and then the clock case pitched headforemost on 
the floor, smashed its face, and wrecked its proportions. 

[3. The current of air extinguished the light; the deacon, 
the old lady and Sally fled upstairs, and Joe Mayweed, extri- 
cating himself from the clock, effected his retreat in the same 
way that he had entered. The next day all Appleton was alive 
with the story of how Deacon Barberry's clock had been be- 
witched; and though many believed its version, some, and 
especially ]oc Mayweed, affected to discredit the whole affair, 
hinting that the deacon had been trying the experiment of tast- 
ing frozen cider, and that the vagaries of the clock case existed 
only in a distempered imagination. 

FALSETTO QUALITY. 

The Falsetto (from falsus, false) is a screechy, high, shrill 
tone, pitched above the natural, with the resonance in the head. 
The Falsetto begins where the pure tone breaks, or outruns its 
compass. It is illustrated by the sharp, shrill shriek of the 
owl. 

1. In producing this quality of voice, the veil of the palate 
is raised very high, and the uvula is forced into the veil, be- 
coming completely hidden from view. 

2. Some voices, through excitement or irritability, natur- 
ally tend to run into the Falsetto. This is a serious fault and 
should be carefully avoided. 

DIRECTION FOR PRODUCING THE FALSETTO QUALITY. 

Begin on the sound of long 0, with your natural pitch, and, 
without changing the force, raise your pitch till the purity of 
voice breaks, and the quality that follows will be Falsetto. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Falsetto quality, like the Nasal, is used in mimicry, to 
denote excitement, irritability, scolding, invective, mockery, 



182 brown's standard elocution 

sudden fright, anger, pain, terror, and irritable old age. It is 
also employed in distant calling and in the imitation of faint 
musical bells heard in the distance. 

* 

EXAMPLES. 

1. "Ho! the starboard watch, ahoy!" 

2. A voice fell, like a falling star — 

"Excelsior!" 

3. "Co y , boss! co', boss! co', co', co' !" 

4. Blow, bugle; answer, echoes, "dying, dying, dying" 

5. The sisters, they murmured "for shame " 
And "she hadn't oughter a let him; 

No doubt she was mostly to blame" 



The Country Justice. 

Give narrative parts in Pure Tone. The Justice uses a 
deep Orotund, his wife, the Falsetto. Let the three tones be 
strongly marked, and the effect will be quite ludicrous. 

1. "The snow is deep," the Justice said; 
''There's mighty mischief overhead, " 
"High talk, indeed!" his wife exclaimed: 
"What, sir ! shall Providence be blamed ?" 

The Justice, laughing, said, "Oh, no ! 
I only-meant the loads of snow 
Upon the roofs. The barn is weak ; 
I greatly fear the roof will break. 
So hand me up the spade, my dear — 
I'll mount the barn, the roof to clear." 

2. "No!" said the wife; "the barn is high, 

And if you slip, and fall, and die, 
How will my living be secured ? — 
Stephen, your life is not insured. 



AND SPEAKER 133 

But tie a rope your waist around, 
And it will hold you safe and sound." 
*T will," said he. "Now for the roof — 
All snugly tied and danger-proof! 
Excelsior ! Excel — But no ! 
The rope is not secured below !" 
Said Rachel, "Climb, the end to throw 
Across the top, and I will go 
And tie that end around my waist." 

3. "Well, every woman to her taste ; 

You always would be tightly laced. 
Rachel, when you became my bride, 
I thought the knot securely tied ; 
But lest the bond should break in twain, 
I'll have it fastened once again." 

4. Below the arm-pits tied around, 
She takes her station on the ground, 
While on the roof, beyond the ridge, 
He shovels clear the lower edge. 
But, sad mischance ! the loosened snow 
Comes sliding down, to plunge below. 
And as he tumbles with the slide, 
Up Rachel goes on t'other side. 

Just half way down the Justice hung; 

Just half way up the woman swung. 
"Good land o' Goshen!" shouted she; 
"Why, do you see it ?" answered he. 

5. The couple dangling in the breeze, 
Like turkeys hung outside to freeze, 
At their rope's end and wit's end, too, 
Shout back and forth what best to do. 
Cried Stephen, "Take it coolly, wife; 
All have their ups and downs in life." 
Quoth Rachel, "What a pity 'tis 

To joke at such a time as this ! 

A man whose wife is being hung 

Should know enough to hold his tongue." 



134 brown's standard elocution 

6. "Now, Rachel, as I look below, 

I see a tempting heap of snow. 
Suppose, my dear, I take my knife, 
And cut the rope to save my life?" 
She shouted, "Don't ! 'twould be my death — - 
I see some pointed stones beneath. 
A better way would be to call, 
With all our might for Phebe Hall." 
"Agreed !" he roared. First he, then she 
Gave tongue : "O Phebe ! Phebe ! Phe-e- 
be Hall !" in tones both fine and coarse, 
Enough to make a drover hoarse. 

7. Now Phebe, over at the farm, 

Was sitting, sewing, snug and warm ; 
But hearing, as she thought, her name, 
Sprang up, and to the rescue came, 
Beheld the scene, and thus she thought : — 
"If now a kitchen chair were brought, 
And I could reach the lady's foot, 
I'd draw her downward by the boot, 
Then cut the rope, and let him go ; 
He cannot miss the pile of snow." 

8. He sees her moving toward his wife, 
Armed with a chair and carving knife, 
And, ere he is aware, perceives 

His head ascending to the eaves, 
And, guessing what the two are at. 
Screams from beneath the roof, "Stop that! 
You make me fall too far, by half !" 
But Phebe answers with a laugh, 
"Please tell a body by what right 
You've brought your wife to such a plight?" 
And then, with well-directed blows, 
She cuts the rope and down he goes. 

9. The wife untied, they walked around, 
When lo ! no Stephen can be found, 
liiey call in vain, run to and fro; 
They look around, above, below, 



AND SPEAKER 135 



No trace or token can they >ee, 
And deeper grows the mystery. 

Then Rachel's heart within her sank; 
But, glancing at the snowy bank, 
She caught a little gleam of hope — 
A gentle movement of the rope. 

10. They scrape away a little snow ; — 

What's this ? A hat ! Ah ! he's below. 
Then upward heaves the snowy pile, 
And forth he stalks in tragic style, 
Unhurt, and with a roguish smile ; 
And Rachel sees, with glad surprise, 
The missing found, the fallen rise. 



FORCE. 

Force is the degree of energy, depending upon the in- 
tensity of feeling, with which speech is delivered. 

i. Force should not be confounded with loudness. Force 
is the measure of intensity by which a sentiment or emotion, 
concentrated in the speaker's mind, is manifested by utter- 
ance. Force marks the degree of mental and physical agita- 
tion rather than its expression. Loudness depends upon force 
and pitch — full force and high pitch producing the greatest 
degree of loudness. Words may be uttered with full force in 
a whisper. 

2. The degree of force employed in the expression of the 
various sentiments and emotions corresponds, with one excep- 
tion, to the strength of the sentiments or emotions that occa- 
sion speech. Sometimes we are so overpowered by passion, 
fright, or other overwhelming emotion, that the energy re- 
quired to express our feelings is consumed in maintaining our 
very consciousness. 

3. Few subjects treated by the elocutionist are of greater 



136 brown's standard elocution 

importance in developing a full, deep, flexible, and powerful 
voice than that of force; hence, practice — much practice, and 
intelligent practice is essential in this department of vocal 
culture. 

4. The student should increase his force by degrees. 
Sudden transitions are injurious to one not accustomed to a 
severe use of the voice. Every new acquisition of power will 
enable him to go beyond his present attainments. When that 
degree of force is obtained beyond which the voice cannot go 
without inconvenience, the effort to increase the force should 
be discontinued, and a few minutes' practice should be had 
with that degree of force. 

5. In the exercises following, avoid any change of pitch 
while increasing the force. If the pitch is raised, begin again 
with the element and endeavor to complete the fullest degree 
of force with the same pitch with which that element is begun. 

6. The student will observe that every shade of emotion 
requires a corresponding degree of force. The varying in- 
tensity must therefore be constantly noted and faithfully in- 
dicated by the appropriate force. 

DIVISION OF FORCE. 

Force may be divided into three classes, namely : Subdued, 
Moderate, Full, each of which may be further divided into 
three degrees. 

exercises. 

The student will repeat the sentence opposite the dots with 
nine degrees of force without change of pitch. Begin with 
the least audible sound that can be uttered, and increase in 
intensity not loudness, till the utmost energy is attained. Re- 
verse the order. Repeat each degree of force several times 
before passing to the next. 



AND SPEAKER 



137 



V time on' n.,r h»nn»r< Mi <h« nn> - . 



Hang out (<ur banners on the outward walls ! 



J Hang out our banners on the outward walls! 

Hang out our banners on the outward walls! 
Hang out our banners on the outward walls! 

Hang out our banners on the outward walls! 
Hang out our banners on the outward walls! 
> Hang out our banners on the outward walls ! 

Hang out our banners on the outward walls ! 

SUBDUED FORCE. LAW OF USE. 

Subdued Force is used in the expression of tenderness, 
pathos, sadness, seriousness, solemnity, reverence, azve, melan- 
choly and tranquillity, usually with pure tone. 



Memory. 
(A Student's Midnight Reverie.) 

JAMES A. GARFIELD. 

Subdued Force. 

This selection is designed to cultivate purity and smooth- 
ness of tone as well as subdued force. Long quantity and 



138 brown's standard elocution 

gentle, undulating waves of the second prevail. The wave 
applied to italicized words will render the delivery beautiful. 
Avoid affectation. 

i. Tis beauteous night; the stars look brightly down 
Upon the earth, decked in her robe of snow. 
No light gleams at the windows, save my own, 
Which gives its cheer to midnight and to me. 
And now, with noiseless step, sweet memory comes 
And leads me gently through her twilight realms. 
What poet's tuneful lyre has ever sung, 
Or delicatest pencil e'er portrayed 
The enchanted, shadowy land where memory dwells ? 

2. It has its valleys, cheerless, lone, and drear, 
Dark-shaded by the mournful cypress tree ; 
And yet its sunlit mountain tops are bathed 

In Heaven's own blue. Upon its craggy cliffs, 
Robed in the dreamy light of distant years, 
Are clustered joys serene of other days. 

3. Upon its gently sloping hill-sides bend 
The weeping willows of the sacred dust 
Of dear departed ones; yet in that land, 
Where'er our footsteps fall upon the shore, 
They that were sleeping rise from out the dust 
Of death's long, silent years, and round us stand 
As erst they did before the prison tomb 
Received their clay within its voiceless halls. 

4. The path of youth winds down through many a vale, 
And on the brink of many a dread abyss, 

From out whose darkness comes no ray of light, 
Save that a phantom dances o'er the gulf 
And beckons toward the verge. Again, the path 
Leads o'er the summit where the sunbeams fall ; 
And thus in light and shade, shunshine and gloom, 
Sorrow and joy, this life-path leads along. 

See also, as an example of Subdued Force, "Break, Break 
Break/' and "Which One." 



AND SPEAKER 139 

MODERATE FORCE. LAW OF USE. 

Moderate Force is employed in the expression of narrative 
descriptive and didactic thought, and may be used to express 
the milder forms of sublimity, solemnity, grandeur and devo- 
tion, and in introductions to orations. 



The Gladiator. 
Moderate Force. 



This is an excellent piece for recitation. The force through- 
out, except the gladiator's speech, is moderate. His words 
receive more force than the narrative part. Let the whole be 
rendered with animation and the effect will be impressive and 
thrilling. 

i. Stillness reigned in the vast amphitheatre, and, from 
the countless thousands that thronged the spacious inclosure, 
not a breath was heard. Every tongue was mute with suspense, 
and every eye strained with anxiety toward the gloomy portal 
where the gladiator was momentarily expected to enter. At 
length the trumpet sounded, and they led him forth into the 
broad arena. There w r as no mark of fear upon his manly coun- 
tenance, as with majestic step and fearless eye he entered. He 
stood there, like another Apollo, firm and unbending as the 
rigid oak. His fine proportioned form was matchless, and 
his turgid muscles spoke his giant strength. 

2. "I am here," he cried, as his proud lip curled in scorn, 
"to glut the savage eyes of Rome's proud populace. Aye, like 
a dog you throw me to a beast ; and what is my offense ? Why, 
forsooth, I am a Christian. But know, ye can not fright my 
soul, for it is based upon a foundation stronger than the 
adamantine rock. Know ye, whose hearts are harder than the 
flinty stone, my heart quakes not with fear ; and here I aver, I 
would not change conditions with the blood-stained Nero, 
crowned though he be, not for the wealth of Rome. Blow ye 
your trumpet — I am ready." 



140 brown's standard elocution 

3. The trumpet sounded, and a long, low growl was heard 
to proceed from the cage of a half-famished Numidian lion 
situated at the farthest end of the arena. The growl deepened 
into a roar of tremendous volume, which shook the enormous 
edifice to its very center. At that moment the door was thrown 
open, and the huge monster of the forest sprang from his den, 
with one mighty bound to the opposite side of the arena. His 
eyes blazed with the brilliancy of fire, as he slowly drew his 
length along the sand, and prepared to make a spring upon 
his formidable antagonist. The gladiator's eye quailed not; 
his lip paled not ; but he stood immovable as a statue, waiting 
the approach of his wary foe. 

4. At length, the lion crouched himself into an attitude for 
springing, and with the quickness of lightning, leaped full at 
the throat of the gladiator. But he was prepared for him, and 
bounding lightly on one side, his falchion flashed for a moment 
over his head, and in the next it was deeply dyed in the purple 
blood of the monster. A roar of redoubled fury again re- 
sounded through the spacious amphitheatre, as the enraged 
animal, mad with anguish from the wound he had just re- 
ceived, wheeled hastily round, and sprang a second time at the 
Nazarene. 

5. Again was the falchion of the cool and intrepid gladiator 
deeply planted in the breast of his terrible adversary; but so 
sudden had been the second attack, that it was impossible to 
avoid the full impetus of his bound, and he staggered and 
fell upon his knee. The monster's paw was upon his shoulder, 
and he felt his hot fiery breath upon his cheek, as it rushed 
through his wide distended nostrils. The Nazarene drew a 
short dagger from his girdle, and endeavored to regain his 
feet. But his foe, aware of his design, precipitating himself 
upon him, threw him with violence to the ground. 

6. The excitement of the populace was now wrought up 
to a high pitch, and they waited the result with breathless sus- 
pense. A low growl of satisfaction now announced the noble 
animal's triumph, as he sprang fiercely upon his prostrate 
enemy. But it was of short duration ; the dagger of .the 
gladiator pierced his vitals, and together they rolled over and 
over, across the broad arena. Again the dagger drank deep 
of the monster's blood, and again a roar of anguish reverberated 
through the stately edifice. 



AND SPEAKER 141 

7. The Nazarene, now watching his opportunity, sprang 
with the velocity of thought from the terrific embrace of his 
enfeebled antagonist, and regaining his falchion, which had 
fallen to the ground in the struggle, he buried it deep in the 
heart of the infuriated beast. The noble king of the forest, 
faint from the loss of blood, concentrated all his remaining 
strength in one mighty bound ; but it was too late ; the last 
blow had been driven home to the center of life, and his huge 
form fell with a mighty crash upon the arena, amid the thunder- 
ing acclamations of the populace. 

FULL FORCE. LAW OF USE. 

Full Force is employed in the expression of strong emo- 
tion, as joy, gladness, courage, boldness, defiance, anger, pro- 
found sublimity and grandeur, and in the delivery of political, 
senatorial, and judicial speeches of an exalted oratorical char- 
acter. 



RiEXzr s Address to the Romans. 

MARY RUSSELL MITFORD. 

Denunciation, Indignation. 
This piece furnishes an excellent drill in Expulsive and Ex- 
plosive Orotund and Full Force. Let the tones be ringing and 
distinct. As a model of its style it will amply repay the labor 
of memorizing. 

t. I come not here to talk. You know too well 
The story of our thraldom. We are — slaves! 
The bright sun rises to his course and lights 
A race of slaves ! He sets, and his last beams 
Fall on a slave; not such as, swept along 
By the full tide of power, the conqueror led 
To crimson glory and undying fame : 
But — base — ignoble slaves ; slaves to a horde 
Of petty tyrants, feudal despots, lords, 
Rich in some dozen paltry villages; 
Strong in some hundred spearmen; only great 
In that strange spell — a name. 



142 brown's standard elocution 

2. Each hour, dark fraud, 
Or open rapine, or protected murder, 
Cries out against them. But this very day, 

An honest man, my neighbor — there he stands — 
Was struck — struck like a — dog, by one who wore 
The badge of Ursini, because, forsooth ! 
He tossed not high his ready cap in air, 
Nor lifted up his voice in servile shouts, 
At sight of that great ruffian ! 

3. Bet we men, 
And suffer such dishonor ? men, and wash not 

The stain away in blood? Such shames are common. 

/ have known deeper wrongs ; /, that speak to ye, 

I had a brother once — a gracious boy, 

Full of gentleness, of calmest hope, 

Of sweet and quiet joy; — there was the look 

Of heaven upon his face, which limners give 

To the beloved disciple. 

4. How I loved 
That gracious boy ! Younger by fifteen years, 
Brother at once, and son ! He left my side, 

A summer bloom on his fair cheek ; a smile 

Parting his innocent lips. In one short hour 

The pretty harmless boy was slain ! I saw 

The corse, the mangled corse, and then I cried 

For vengeance \ Rouse ye, Romans ! Rouse ye Slaves ! 

Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce brawl ! 

To see them die. Have ye fair daughters? Look 

To see them live, torn from your arms, distained, 

Dishonored; and if ye dare call for justice, 

Be answered by the lash. 

5. Yet, this is Rome, 
That sat on her seven hills, and from her throne 
Of beauty, ruled the world ! Yet, we are Romans. 
Why, in that elder day, to be a Roman 

Was greater than a king! And, once again — 
Hear me, ye walls that echoed to the tread 
Of either Brutus ! — once again, I swear, 
The Eternal City shall be free! 



and SPEAKER 143 

Sec also "South Carolina and Massachusetts" as an ex- 
ample of Full Force. 

SUSTAINED FORCE. 

In addressing large assemblies, and in calling and com- 
manding, the Full Force is sustained for some moments, ac- 
cording to the size of the audience, or distance to which the 
voice is to be heard. 

Calling at a distance and preparatory commands require an 
effusive prolongation on the accented vowels. Speaking to 
great numbers at a distance requires long quantity on words 
and long pauses between the words. 

Exercises : 

i. O-v-e-r! 

Young men — ahoy ! 
Ship — ahoy ! Send-a-boat ! 
Attention — Company ! — March ! 
And lo ! from the assembled crowd 
There rose a shout, prolonged and loud, 
That to the ocean seemed to say, 
"Take — her, — oh — bridegroom — old — and — gray, 
Take — her — to — thy — protecting — arms, 
With — all — her — youth — and — all — her — charms." 

— [Longfellow.] 

Appeal in Behalf of Ireland. 

s. S. PRENTISS. 

The following appeal to the citizens of New Orleans during 
the Mexican War, made in behalf of Ireland, then suffering 
from a terrible famine, is one of the finest specimens of modern 
eloquence. It is a favorite among college students. With it 
many prizes have been won. 



144 brown's standard elocution 

Its delivery requires effusive and expulsive orotund, full 
and sustained force, long quantity and long pauses. 

i. Fellow-citizens: It is no ordinary cause that has 
brought together this vast assemblage, on the present occasion. 
We have met, not to prepare ourselves for political contests. 
We have met, not to celebrate the achievements for those gal- 
lant men who have planted our victorious standards in the 
heart of an enemy's country. We have assembled not to re- 
spond to shouts of triumph from the West, but to answer the 
cry of want and suffering which comes from the East. The 
Old World stretches out her arms to the New. The starving 
parent supplicates the young and vigorous child for bread. 

2. There lies upon the other side of the wide Atlantic a 
beautiful island, famous in story and in song. Its area is not 
so great as that of the state of Louisiana, while its population 
is almost half that of the Union. It has given to the world 
more than its share of genius and of greatness. It has been 
prolific in statesmen, warriors, and poets. Its brave and gen- 
erous sons have fought successfully all battles but their own. 
In wit and humor it has no equal ; while its harp, like its his- 
tory, moves to tears by its sweet but melancholy pathos. 

3. Into this fair region, God has seen fit to send the most 
terrible of all those fearful ministers that fulfill his inscrutable 
decrees. The Earth has failed to give her increase. The com- 
mon mother has forgotten her offspring, and she no longer 
affords them their accustomed nourishment. Famine, gaunt 
and ghastly Famine, has seized a nation with its strangling 
grasp. Unhappy Ireland, in the sad woes of the present, for- 
gets, for a moment, the gloomy history of the past. 

4. Oh ! it is terrible, that in this beautiful world, which the 
good God has given us, and in which there is plenty for us all, 
men should die of starvation 5 When a man dies of disease, he 
alone endures the pain. Around his pillow are gathered sym- 
pathizing friends, who, if they can not keep back the deadly 
messenger, cover his face, and conceal the horrors of his visage, 
as he delivers his stern mandate. In battle, in the fullness of 
his pride and strength, little recks the soldier whether the hiss- 
ing bullet sings his sudden requiem, or the cords of life are 
severed by the sharp steel. 

5. But he who dies of hunger, wrestles alone, day after 



AND SPEAKER 145 

day, with his grim and unrelenting enemy. He has no friends 
to cheer him in the terrible conflict; for, if he had friends, how 
could he die of hunger? lie has not the hot blood of the sol- 
dier to maintain him; for hi Foe, vampire-like, has exhausted 
his veins. Famine comes not up, like a brave enemy, storming, 
by a sudden onset, the fortress that resi>ts. Famine besieges, 
lie draws his lines round the doomed garrison. He cuts off all 
supplies. He never summons to surrender; for he gives no 
quarter. 

6. Alas ! for poor human nature, how can it sustain this 
fearful warfare? Day by day the blood recedes; the flesh 
deserts ; the muscles relax, and the sinews grow pow r erless. At 
last the mind, which at first had bravely nerved itself against 
the contest, gives way, under the mysterious influences which 
govern its union with the body. Then the victim begins to 
doubt the existence of an overruling Providence. He hates his 
fellow-men, and glares upon them with the longing of a can- 
nibal ; and, it may be, dies blaspheming. 

7. This is one of those cases in which we may, without im- 
piety, assume, as it were, the function of Providence. Who 
knows but that one of the very objects of this calamity is to 
test the benevolence and worthiness of us, upon whom un- 
limited abundance is showered? In the name, then, of com- 
mon humanity, I invoke your aid in behalf of starving Ireland. 
He who is able, and will not aid such a cause, is not a man, 
and has no right to wear the form. He should be sent back 
to Nature's mint, and re-issued as a counterfeit on humanity, 
of Nature's baser metal. 

For other examples of sustained force, see the commands 

in "'Charge of the Light Brigade." 



STRESS. 



Stress is the application of Force to some particular part, 
of a syllable or word. 

1. Stress differs from accent in this particular: stress is 
limited to only a part of a syllable, while accent includes the 
entire svllable. 



146 BROWN'S STANDARD ELOCUTION 

2. In the utterance of an elementary sound which consists 
of but a single impulse of the voice, the force may lie promi- 
nently on the first or on the last part, on the middle or on both 
extremes, or it may be distributed with an equal degree 
throughout the sound. 

The divisions of stress are, 

Radical, Median, Final, 

Compound, Thorough, Intermittent. 

radical stress. 

Radical Stress (| HH^^^O ls tlie application of Force 
to the first part of a syllable or word. 

In applying this stress the sound should burst instanta- 
neously upon the first part of the syllable or word, and the 
succeeding part should be uttered with a decreasing force. 

LAW OF USE. 

The degree of Radical Stress is determined by the intensity 
of emotion. It is used, first, in a mild form, to express nar- 
rative, didactic, and descriptive thought; and, second, with 
greater force, to express mirthful emotions, sudden anger, fear, 
impetuous and startling emotions; and, third, with full force, 
in the delivery of vigorous and earnest argument. 

EXERCISES IN RADICAL STRESS. 

Apply radical stress to the short vowel sounds: 
a e i o u 

1. He wok"eTto hear his sentry shriek, 

To arms! they come! the Greek! the Greek! 

2. Back to thy p"unishment, false fugitive! 



and speaker 147 

The Revolutionary Rising. 

thomas buchanan read. 

The following poem is a favorite drill exercise among voice 
trainers. Examples of the three degrees of force are afforded 
for the application of Radical Stress. Observe that stanzas 
second and third are delivered with a force varying between 
subdued and moderate, the others with a force varying with 
the intensity of emotion. 

i. Out of the Xorth the wild news came, 
Far flashing on its wings of flame, 
Swift as the boreal light which flies 
At midnight through the startled skies. 
And there was tumult in the air, 

The fife's shrill note, the drum's loud beat, 
And through the wide land everywhere 

The answering tread of hurrying feet, 
While the first oath of freedom's gun 
Came on the blast from Lexington ; 
And Concord roused, no longer tame, 
Forgot her old baptismal name, 
Made bare her patriot arm of power, 
And swelled the discord of the hour. 

2. Within its shade of elm and oak 

The church of Berkley Manor stood; 
There Sunday found the rural folk, 

And some esteemed of gentle blood. 

In vain their feet with loitering tread 
Passed mid the graves where rank is naught; 
All could not read the lesson taught 

In that republic of the dead. 

3. How 7 sweet the hour of Sabbath talk, 

The vale with peace and sunshine full, 
Where all the happy people walk. 

Decked in their homespun flax and wool ; 



148 brown's standard elocution 

Where youth's gay hats with blossoms bloom ; 
And every maid, with simple art, 
Wears on her breast, like her own heart, 

A bud whose depths are all perfume; 
While every garment's gentle stir 
Is breathing rose and lavender. 

4. The pastor came; his snowy locks 

Hallowed his brow of thought and care; 
And calmly, as shepherdes lead their flocks, 

He lead into the house of prayer. 
Then soon he rose ; the prayer was strong ; 
The Psalm was warrior David's song; 
The text, a few short words of might — 
"The Lord of hosts shall arm the right!" 
He spoke of wrongs too long endured, 
Of sacred rights to be secured; 
Then from his patriot tongue of flame 
The startling words for Freedom came. 

5. The stirring sentences he spake 
Compelled the heart to glow or quake, 
And rising on his theme's broad wing, 

And grasping in his nervous hand 

The imaginary battle-brand, 
In face of death he dared to fling 
Defiance to a tyrant king. 

6. Even as he spoke, his frame, renewed 
In eloquence of attitude, 

Rose, as it seemed, a shoulder higher; 
Then swept his kindling glance of fire 
From startled pew to breathless choir; 
When suddenly his mantle wide 
His hands impatient flung aside, 
And, lo ! he met their wondering eyes 
Complete in all a warrior's guise. 

7. A moment there was awful pause — 
When Berkley cried, "Cease traitor, cease ! 



AM) SPEAKER 149 

God's temple is the house of peace!" 

The other shouted, "Nay, not so, 
When God is with our righteous cause; 
His holiest places then are ours, 
J lis temples are our forts and towers 

That frown upon the tyrant foe; 
In this, the dawn of Freedom's day, 
There is a time to light and pray I" 

8. And now, before the open door — 

The warrior priest had ordered so — - 
The enlisting trumpet's sudden roar 
Rang through the chapel, o'er and o'er, 

Its long reverberating blow, 
So loud and clear, it seemed the ear 
Of dusty death must wake and hear. 

9. And there the startling drum and fife 
Fired the living with fiercer life; 
While overhead, with wild increase, 
Forgetting its ancient toll of peace. 

The great bell swung as ne'er before. 
It seemed as it would never cease; 
And every word its ardor flung 
From off its jubilant iron tongue 

Was, "War! war! WAR!" 

10. "Who dares" — this was the patriot's cry, 

As striding from the desk he came — 
"Come out with me, in Freedom's name, 

For her to live, for her to die?" 

A hundred hands, flung up reply. 

A hundred voices answered, "I !" 

For additional illustrations see "The Little Black-Eyed 
Rebel," "The Happy Young Girl," and "Marco Bozzaris." 

MEDIAN STRESS. 

The Median Stress ( «^^fl||^^^» ) i- N the application of 
force to the middle of the syllable or word, Its application 



150 brown's standard elocution 

consists in a gradual swelling of voice to the middle of the 
syllable or word, followed by a gradually diminishing force to 
the end. 

1. The Median Stress supplies the chief element of 
grandeur, beauty and impressiveness in the rendition of poetic 
thought. 

2. The lengthened and expansive quantity given to those 
words significant of pathos, sublimity, and intense feeling reach 
the heart and enlist our sympathies beyond the power of the 
most artistic combination of words. It is the natural vein with 
which heart speaks to heart. 

3. Great care, however, should be exercised lest this 
should be overdone, misplaced or ill-timed, for ridicule and 
contempt would then take the place of sympathy. To avoid 
any misapplication, feel the sentiment before you attempt its 
expression. Here, as elsewhere, artistic error deceives only 
artificial tastes. 

4. The characteristic utterance of Median Stress is effu- 
sive, though the expression of the more elevated emotions of 
grandeur and sublimity coupled with full force requires an 
expulsive utterance. 

EXERCISES IN MEDIAN STRESS. 

1. O, the long and dreary winter! 

2. O, the cold and cruel winter! 

3. Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll! 

4. O Lord, thou art clothed with honor and majesty. 

5. Lo, all grow old and die! 

LAW OF USE. 

The Median Stress is used in the expression of tenderness, 
compassion, grandeur, sublimity, pathos, reverence, and de- 
votion. 



AND SPEAKER 151 

The intensity of the stress varies with the degree of 
emotion. 



Which One? 
isaac hinton brown. 



Let the quantity and pauses be long and the Median Stress 
well marked. Avoid affectation. 

i. One of us, dear — 

But one — 
Will sit by a bed with a marvellous fear, 

And clasp a hand, 
Growing cold as it feels for the spiiit land — 

Darling, which one ? 

2. One of us, dear — 

But one — 
Will stand by the other's coffin bier, 

And look and weep, 
While those marble lips strange silence keep — 

Darling, which one ? 

3. One of us, dear — 

But one — 
By an open grave will drop a tear. 

And homeward go, 
The anguish of an unshared grief to know — 

Darling, which one? 

4. One of us, darling, it must be, 

It may be yon will slip from me; 
Or perhaps my life may first be done ; 
Which one? 

Other excellent examples of Median Stress are "The Long 
Ago," "Memory, " "Break, Break, Break," and the second 
stanza of "The Bells," 



152 brown's standard elocution 

final stress. 

The Final Stress ( -*oK£8H I ) * 5 ^e application of 
force to the last part of the syllable or word. 

1. The final Stress consists of a gradual increase of force 
till the end of the syllable or word is reached, when the force 
culminates in an abrupt explosive utterance. 

2. This is emphatically the stress of decisive statements. 
Its use, with those to whom it is natural, admits of no equivo- 
cation. 

3. The student is cautioned against its use where not in- 
dicated. Its frequent recurrence in conversation or oratory, 
when not required in appropriate expression, savors of arro- 
gance, and serves to repel rather than to persuade or convince. 

EXERCISES IN FINAL STRESS. 

hate budge slave gone blood 

crouch fawn cringe swear scorn 

I dare accusation! I defy the honorable gentleman! 

LAW OF USE. 

The Final Stress is used in expressing a dogged determin- 
ation, disdain, contempt, protest, rebuke, disgust, revenge, de- 
fiance and hatred. 



Catiline's Defiance, 
george croly. 



An, admirable selection to cultivate the bold utterance of 
angry vehemence. Use Pictorial quality, Full Force and Final 
Stress. 



AND SPEAKER 153 

i. Consc ript Fathers : 

I do not rise to waste the night in words ; 
Let that plebeian talk; 'tis not my trade; 
But here 1 stand for right — let him snow proofs — 
For Roman right; though none, it seems, dare stand 
To take their share with me. Ay, cluster there ! 
Cling to your master, judges, Romans, slaves! 
His charge is false; — I dare him to his proofs. 
You have my answer. Let my actions speak! 

2. But this I will avow, that I have scorned, 
And still do scorn, to hide my sense of wrong ! 
Who brands me on the forehead, breaks my sword, 
Or lays the bloody scourge upon my back, 
Wrongs me not half so much as he who shuts 
The gates of honor on me — turning out 

The Roman from his birthright; and, for what? 

To fling your offices to every slave ! 

Vipers, that creep where man disdains to climb. 

And, having wound their loathsome track to the top 

Of this huge, moldering monument of Rome, 

Hang hissing at the nobler man below ! 

Come, consecrated lictors, from your thrones ; 

Fling down your scepter; [To the Senate] take the rod and 

ax 
And make the murder as you make the law T ! 

3. Banished from Rome! What's banished, but set free 
From daily contact with the things I loathe? 

''Tried and convicted traitor ?" Who says this? 
Who'll prove it, at his peril, on my head? 

4. Banished! I thank you for't. It breaks my chain! 
I held some slack allegiance till this hour ; 

But now my sword's my own. Smile on, my lords! 

I scorn to count what feelings, withered hopes, 

Strong provocations, bitter, burning wrongs, 

I have within my heart's hot cells shut up, 

To leave yon in your lazy dignities. 

But here I stand and scoff you ! here, I fling 



154 brown's standard elocution 

Hatred and full defiance in your face ! 
Your consul's merciful — for this all thanks ; 
He dares not touch a hair of Catiline ! 

5. "Traitor!" I go; but / return. This — trial? 
Here I devote your senate ! I've had wrongs 
• To stir a fever in the blood of age, 

Or make the infant's sinews strong as steel. 

This day's the birth of sorrow ! This hour's work 

Will breed proscriptions ! Look to your hearths, my lords ! 

For there, henceforth, shall sit, for household gods. 

Shapes hot from Tartarus ! — all shames and crimes ! 

Wan treachery, with his thirsty dagger drawn; 

Suspicion, poisoning his brother's cup; 

Naked Rebellion, with the torch and ax, 

Making his wild sport of your blazing thrones ; 

Till Anarchy comes down on you like night, 

And massacre seals Rome's eternal grave ! 

6. I go; but not to leap the gulf alone. 

I go; but, when I come, 'twill be the burst 
Of ocean in the earthquake — rolling back 
In swift and mountainous ruin. Fare you well ! 
You build my funeral pile ; but your best blood 
Shall quench its flame! Back, slaves! [To the Lictors] 
. I will return! 

Another fine example of Final Stress is "The Seminole's 

Defiance." 

COMPOUND STRESS. 

Compound Stress (W^^*~^^^&) is the application of 
force to the first and last part of a word, giving the middle 
part but slight force. 

The Compound Stress may be regarded as an emphatic 
form of the emotional wave. 

EXERCISES IN COMPOUND STRESS. 

dead added gone feared happy 

brother bloody king paused deed, 



AND 3PEAXE1 155 

Gone to be married! Gone to swear a peace! 

False blood to false blood joined! Gone to be fricnd6! 

Shall Louia have Blarrche, and Blanche these provinces' 3 

LAW OF USE. 

The Compoi used to express ridicule, irony, 

astonishment, contempt, malice, mo: sm, and raillery. 



Spartacus to the Roman Envoys in Etruria, 

epes sargent. 

This declamation is a great favorite among contestant- for 
declamation honors and prizes. Words requiring Compound 
Stress are printed in Italics. Vsq Orotund quality and mod- 
erately Full Force. 

i. Envoys of Rome: The poor camp of Spartacus is too 
much honored by your presence. And does Rome stoop to 
parley with the escaped gladiator, with the rebel ruffian, for 

:n heretofore no slight has been too scornful? You have 
come, with steel in your right hand, and with gold in ; 
left. What heed we give the former, ask Cossinius; ask 
Claudius ; ask Yarinius ; ask the bones of your legions that 
fertilize the Lucanian plains. And for your gold — would ye 
know what we do with that — go ask the laborer, the trodden 
poor, the helpless and the hopeless, on our route; ask all whom 

.an tyranny had crushed or Roman avarice plunder 

2. Ye have seen me before; but ye did not then shun my 
glance as now. Ye have seen me in the arena, when I was 
Rome's pet ruffian, daily smeared with blood of men or beasts. 
One day — shall I forget it ever? — ye were present — I had 
fought long and well. Exhausted as I was. your munerator, 
your lord of the games, bethought him, it were an equal match 
to set against me a new man. younger and lighter than I. but 
fresh and valiant. With Thracian -word and buckler, forth 



156 brown's standard elocution 

he came, a beautiful defiance on his brow! Bloody and brief 
the fight. "He has it!" cried the People: "habet! habet!" 
But still he lowered not his arm, until, at length, I held him, 
gashed and fainting, in my power. 

3. I looked around upon the Podium, where sat your Sen- 
ators and men of State, to catch the signal of release, of mercy. 
But not a thumb was reversed. To crown your sport the van- 
quished man must die ! Obedient brute that I was, I was about 
to slay him, when a few hurried words — rather a welcome to 
death than a plea for life — told me he was a Thracian. I stood 
transfixed. The arena vanished. I was in Thrace, upon my 
native hills ! The sword dropped from my hands. I raised the 
dying youth tenderly in my arms. O, the magnanimity of 
Rome. 

4. Your haughty leaders, enraged at being cheated of their 
deathshow, hissed their disappointment, and shouted." Kill !" 
I heeded them as I would heed the howl of wolves. Kill him? 
— They might better have asked the mother to kill the babe, 
smiling in her face. Ah ! he was already wounded unto death ; 
and, amid the angry yells of the spectators, he died. That 
night I was scourged for disobedience. I shall not forget it. 
Should memory fail, there are scars here to quicken it. 

5. Well; do not grow impatient. Some hours after, find- 
ing myself with seventy fellow gladiators, alone in the amphi- 
theatre, the laboring thought broke forth in words. I said — I 
know not what. I only know that when I ceased, my comrades 
looked each other in the face — and then burst forth the simul- 
taneous cry — "Lead on! lead on, O Spartacus!" Forth we 
rushed — seized what rude weapons Chance threw in our way, 
and to the mountains speeded. There day by day our little band 
increased. 

6. Disdainful Rome sent after us a handful of her troops, 
with a scourge for the slave Spartacus. Their weapons soon 
were ours. She sent an army ; and down from old Vesuvius 
we poured, and slew three thousand. Now it was Spartacus 
the dreaded rebel! A larger army, headed by the Praetor, was 
sent and routed ; then another still. And always I remembered 
that fierce cry, riving my heart, and calling me to "kill!" In 
three pitched battles, have I not obeyed it? And now affrighted 
Rome sends her two Consuls, and puts forth all her strength by 



AND SPEAKER 157 

land, and sea, as if a Pyrrhus or a Hannibal were on her 
border- ! 

7. Envoys of Rome! To Lentulus and Gellius bear this 
message: "Their graves arc measured!" Look on that narrow 
stream, a silver thread, high on the mountain's side! Slenderly 
it winds, but soon is swelled by others meeting it, until a tor- 
rent, terrible and strong, it sweeps to the abyss where all is 
ruin. So Spartacus comes on! So swells his force — small and 
despised at first, but now 7 resistless ! On, on to Rome we come ! 
The gladiators come ! Let Opulence tremble in all his palaces ! 
Let Oppression shudder to think the oppressed may have their 
turn ! Let Cruelty turn pale at thought of redder hands than 
his ! O. we shall not forget Rome's many lessons. She shall 
not find her training was all wasted upon indocile pupils. Xow 
begone ! Prepare the Eternal City for oar games ! 

Additional example in Compound Stress will be found in 
the "Scene from Hamlet." 

THOROUGH STRESS. 

Thorough Stress ( ■■MMHHI is the equal distribution 
of Force to all parts of the syllable or word. 

1. It is a combination of the Radical, Median and Final in 
the order named. 

2. It is the characteristic Stress of a powerful and all-per- 
vading emotion that seeks to express itself in broad, swelling 
sounds which electrify the hearts and fire the souls of listeners. 

3. The effect of the Thorough Stress upon the assembled 
multitude, listening to the impassioned appeals of a skillful 
orator, pleading the cause of suffering humanity, or denounc- 
ing insatiate ambition, unbridled licentiousness or unchecked 
tyranny, is wonderful and beyond our comprehension. If, how- 
ever, employed in the expression of common-place ideas and 
trivial thoughts, it can excite in cultivated minds only ridicule 
and disgust. 

4. Children are usually deficient in the power of Thorough 



158 BROWN*S STANDARD ELOCUTION 

Stress, and on attempting to apply it to one or more words, are 
apt to run into a high, monotonous chant that is extremely un- 
pleasant to hearers. To avoid this tendency, examples should 
be used for the practice of this stress containing words at their 
close which require some other stress. 

[See example below; the italicized words require Thorough 
Stress.] 

EXERCISES IN THOROUGH STRESS. 

sail strong home know swarm 

drove song shore prayer prolong 

"Forward, the Light Brigade! 
Charge for the guns!" he said. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Thorough Stress is employed to express lofty com- 
mand, rapturous joy, calling, shouting, vehement indignation, 
oratorical apostrophe and intense and violent emotion. 



Apostrophe to the English Language. 

george bancroft. 

Expulsive Orotund, Full Force, Thorough Stress. Excel- 
lent for drill on these three elements. 

i. Go forth, then, language of Milton and Hampden, lan- 
guage of my country; take possession of the North American 
Continent ! Gladden the waste places with every tone that has 
been rightly struck on the English lyre, with every English 
word that has been spoken well for liberty and man ! 

2. Give an echo to the now silent and solitary mountains ; 
gush out with the fountains that as yet sing their anthem all 
day long without response; fill the valleys with the voices of 



KND SPEAKER 159 

love in its purity, the pledges of friendship in its faithfulness; 
and as the morning sun drinks the dewdrops from the flow- 
ers all the way from the dreary Atlantic to the Peaceful ocean, 
meet him with the joyous hum of the early industry of free- 



men 



3. Utter boldly and spread widely through the world 
the thoughts of the coming apostles of the people's liberty, till 
the sound that cheers the desert shall thrill through the heart 
of humanity, and the lips of the messenger of the people's 
power, as he stands in beauty upon the mountains, shall pro- 
claim the renovating tidings of equal freedom for the race. 

For other illustrations of Thorough Stress, see 'The 
National Banner," "Defense of Hofer" and the last paragraph 
of "Impeachment of Warren Hastings." 



INTERMITTENT STRESS. 

The Intermittent Stress (^^^^^^^/j * s a tremulous 

application of Force throughout the syllable or word, pro- 
longed in utterance. 

1. It is the characteristic Stress of extreme tenderness, 
feebleness and old age, but is also observed in subdued grief 
and joy, when the breath is sent forth in agitated jets, as if the 
vital forces were too weak to control its accurate articulation. 

2. To secure command of the tremor, much practice upon 
simple elements and words is necessary before attempting con- 
tinuous sentences. 

LAW OF USE. 

The Intermittent Stress is used in the expression of dis- 
tress, fear, weakness, exhaustion, sickness, pity, tenderness, 
overwhelming joy and grief, and in the feebleness of old age. 



160 brown's standard elocution 



Exercises in Intermittent Stress: 




old 


gone 


poor 


grave 


strength 


word 


time 


breath 


hear 


come 


round 


soul 


chain 


twine 


path 


roll 



EXAMPLES I SICKNESS AND EXHAUSTION. 

Jessie's — too — sick, — Papa. Can't — say — goodnight, — Papa. 
In — the — morning. 



Mother, — the — angels — do — so — smile, — and — beckon — lit- 
tle Jim. 



FEEBLENESS OF OLD AGE. 



Pity the sorrows of a poor old man, 

Whose trembling limbs have borne him to your door, 
Whose days are dunndled to the shortest span; — 

Oh! give relief, and Heaven will bless your store! 



The Dying Boy. 
mrs. sigourney. 



A most impressive reading or recitation when well rendered. 
Give descriptive parts with Pure Tone, Moderate Force, Radi- 
cal and Median Stress. The child uses Plaintive Quality, 
Subdued Force and Intermittent Stress. Avoid affectation. 

i. It must be sweet, in childhood, to give back 
The spirit to its Maker ; ere the heart 
Has grown familiar with the paths of sin, 
And sown, to garner up, its bitter fruits. 
I knew a boy whose infant feet had trod 
Upon the blossoms of some seven springs, 
And when the eighth came round, and called him out 
To revel in its light, he turned away, 
And sought his chamber, to lie down and die. 



AND SPEAKER 161 

2. Twas night; he summoned his accustomed friends, 
And on this wise bestowed his last bequest: 

"Mother, I am dying now ! 
There's a deep suffocation in my breast 
As if some heavy hand my bosom pressed; 

And on my brow, 

I feel the cold sweat stand ; 
My lips grow dry and tremulous, and my breath 
Comes feebly on. O ! tell me, is this death ! 

3. "Mother, your hand, 
Here, lay it on my wrist, 

And place the other thus beneath my head, 
And say, sweet mother, say, when I am dead, 

Shall I be missed? 

Never beside your knee. 
Shall I kneel down again at night to pray ; 
Nor with the morning wake, and sing the lay 

You taught me. 

4. "O, at the time of prayer, 

When you look round, and see a vacant seat, 
You will not wait then for my coming feet ; 

You'll miss me there. 

Father, I'm going home ! 
To the good home you spoke of, that blest land 
Where it is one bright summer always, and 

Storms do never come. 

5. "I must be happy then, 

From pain and death you say I shall be free, 
That sickness never enters there, and we 

Shall meet again. 

Brother, the little spot 
I used to call my garden, where long hours 
We've stayed to watch the budding things and flowers, 

Forget it not! 

6. "Plant there some box or pine, 
Something that lives in winter, and will be 
A verdant offering to my memory, 

And call it mine! 



162 brown's standard elocution 

7. "Sister, my young rose-tree, 

That all the spring has been my pleasant care, 
Just putting forth its leaves so green and fair, 

I give to thee: 

And when its roses bloom, 
I shall be far away, my short life done; 
But will you not bestow a single one 

Upon my tomb ? 

8. "Now, mother, sing the tune 

You sang last night. I'm weary, and must sleep, 
Who was it called my name ? Nay, do not weep, 
You'll all come soon !" 

9. Morning spread o'er earth her rosy wings, 
And that meek sufferer, cold and ivory pale, 
Lay on his couch asleep. The gentle air 
Came through the open window, freighted with 
The savory odors of the early spring; 

He breathed it not; the laugh of passers-by 
Jarred like a discord in some mournful tune, 
But wakened not his slumber. He was dead. 

For other illustrations of Intermittent Stress, see "Give 
Me Three Grains of Corn, Mother," "The Miser's Death," and 
"Good Night, Papa." 



PITCH. 

Pitch is the degree of elevation or depression of sound 
above or below the keynote. 

1. We say that one tone is higher than another when the 
number of vibrations produced in the utterance of one is 
greater than the other. 

2. Pitch in music is determined by the unvarying musical 
scale, and transitions from high to low, or the reverse, are 
made by steps ; while in speech the appropriate pitch depends 



AXD SPEAKER 163 

upon the sentiment to he expressed and the construction of 
the vocal organs of the speaker; and the various changes are 
made by slides of the voice called the concrete movement. 

3. A number of persons singing the same piece of music 
would employ the same pitch, but if these same persons read 
the same selection, though it require a high or low pitch, there 
is scarcely any probability that their voices would be pitched 
upon the same key; and yet, each, using his appropriate pitch 
for the sentiment, would read it correctly. In the first in- 
stance the pitch is determined by musical instruments ; in the 
latter, by the voices of the respective individuals. 

4. All that has been said concerning the influence of emo- 
tion in determining the appropriate element in vocal expres- 
sion applies to pitch. These conditions operate directly upon 
the vocal organs — tension of the vocal chords, producing a 
high pitch, arises from exaltation of spirit; relaxation of these 
chords, producing low pitch, accompanies mental depression ; 
while a tranquil state of mind leaves the vocal chords in their 
natural condition, and a pitch midway between high and low 
will be selected. 

DIVISIONS OF PITCH. 

Since the sentiment determines the appropriate pitch, three 
divisions are naturally formed, which we designate high, mid- 
dle and low. 

1. These divisions are not absolute, and have no definite 
place on the musical scale. They vary according to intensity 
of feeling and the natural key of different voices. 

2. Each of these divisions has an extended compass, since 
many emotions that are classed as exciting differ widely in 
degree and in their influence upon individuals ; hence, we may 
have pitch high, moderately high, and very high, and the same 
is true of low pitch. The pupil must decide from the intensity 



164 brown's standard elocution 

of the sentiment what degree of high or low pitch he shall use, 
bearing in mind that the greater the agitation from joyous or 
angry emotions, the higher the pitch; and, conversely, the 
greater the depression from emotions of solemnity or grief, 
the lower the pitch. 

EXERCISES. 

Pronounce each name in the following list with pure tone, 
moderate force, radical stress, as you would if calling to the 
individuals situated at distances indicated by the number of 
feet opposite his name. Repeat the names in reverse order, 
and afterward promiscuously, always imagining the distance 
to which your voice is to be heard : 

Very low pitch 5 feet — Thomas Hall. 

Low pitch 10 feet — Henry Jones. 

Moderately low pitch 20 feet — Samuel Taylor. 

Middle pitch 40 feet — David Cole. 

Moderately high pitch 80 feet — James Temple. 

High pitch 160 feet — Robert Morris. 

Very high pitch 320 feet — Edward Blake. 

Begin with one and count to ten, starting with your lowest 
pitch, and ending with your highest. Reverse the order. 
Maintain a moderate force. Avoid the musical scale. 

MIDDLE PITCH. 

The Middle Pitch is used in our ordinary conversation in 
the delivery of narrative, descriptive and didactic thought, and 
in the introduction to lectures, orations and sermons. 



and speaker 165 

The Music of the Human Voice. 

WILLIAM RUSSELL. 

Read in a clear, full, pure, earnest tone. Use Moderate 
Force, Radical Stress, with Middle Pitch. Avoid anything 
strained or artificial. 

i. Willis, in his essay on "Unwritten Music," has placed 
the appropriate sound of the female voice among the most 
beautiful of its forms ; and there is, unquestionably, a fine 
analogy between the sound of the running brook, the note of 
the wood-bird, the voice of a happy child, the low breathing of 
a flute, and the clear, soft tone of a woman's voice, when it 
utters the natural music of home — the accents of gentleness 
and love. 

2. To a well-tuned ear, there is a rich, deep melody in the 
distinctive bass of the male voice, in its subdued tones. But 
the keynote of poetry seems to have been lent to woman. On 
the ear of infancy and childhood, her voice was meant to fall 
as a winning prelude to all the other melodies of nature; the 
human nerves are attuned, accordingly, to the breath of her 
voice; and, through life, the chords of the heart respond most 
readily to her touch. 

3. Yet how often is this result impeded by the processes 
of artificial culture; by the over-excitement of mind and nerve, 
attending excessive application ; by that unwise neglect of 
health and healthful action, which dims the eye and deadens 
the ear to beauty, and robs life of the joyous and sympathetic 
spirit which is native to childhood ; and which, otherwise, would 
ever be gushing forth in notes of gladness and endearment, 
the physicial not less than the moral charm of human utterance. 

4. There are beautiful exceptions, undoubtedly, to this 
general fact of ungainly habit. But the ground of just com- 
plaint is, that there is no provision made in our systems of 
education for the cultivation of one of woman's peculiar en- 
dowments — an attractive voice. Our girls do not come home 
to us, after their period of school life, qualified to read with 
effect in their own language. There is wanting in their voices 
that adaptation of tone to feeling, which is the music of the 
heart in reading; there is wanting that clear, impressive style 



166 brown's standard elocution 

which belongs to the utterance of cultivated taste and judg- 
ment, and which enhances every sentiment by appropriate 
emphasis and pause ; there is even a want of that distinct articu- 
lation which alone can make sound the intelligible medium of 
thought. 

HIGH PITCH. 

High Pitch is used in calling, commanding and shouting, 
in the delivery of animated, earnest and joyous sentiments, and 
in the emotions of gayety, gladness, exidtation and triumph. 

High Pitch combined with Pure Tone and Full Force pro- 
duces loudness. 

exercises. 

i. "Victory! Victory!'' is the shout. 

2. "Oh, spare my child, my joy, my pride; 

Oh, give me back my child!" she cried. 

3. Ring joyous chords! ring out again 
A swifter still and a wilder strain ! 



Liberty or Death — March, 1795. 

patrick henry. 

High Pitch. 

This is a favorite selection for oratorical drill. Many 
prizes and honors attest its worth as a contest declamation. 
Let the quality be a strong Orotund, the force Full, and the 
Stress vary with the sentiment. Begin in conversational tones. 

1. Mr. President: It is natural to man to indulge in the 
illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a pain- 
ful truth, and listen to the song of that siren, till she trans- 
forms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in 
a great and arduous struggle for liberty ? Are we disposed to 



AM) SPEAKER 167 

be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and hav- 
ing ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their 
temporal salvation? 

2. For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, 
I am willing to know the whole truth — to know the worst, and 
to provide for it. I have but one lamp by which my feet are 
guided, and that is the lamp of experience. I know of no 
way of judging of the future but by the past; and, judging by 
the past, I wish to know what there has been in the conduct 
of the British ministry for the last ten years to justify those 
hopes with which gentlemen have been pleased to solace them- 
selves and the House. 

3. Is it that insidious smile with which our petition has 
been lately received? .Trust it not, sir; it will prove a snare to 
your feet! Suffer not yourselves to be betrayed with a kiss. 
Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition 
comports w T ith those warlike preparations which cover our 
waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary 
to a work of love and reconcilation ? Have we shown our- 
selves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called 
in to win back our love ? 

4. Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. These are the imple- 
ments of zi'ar and subjugation — the last arguments to which 
kings resort. I ask, sir, what means this martial array, if its 
purpose be not to force us to submission ? Can gentlemen as- 
sign any other possible motive for it ? Has Great Britain any 
enemy in this quarter of the world, to call for all this accumula- 
tion of navies and armies ? 

5. No, sir, she has none; they are meant for us; they can 
be meant for no other. They are sent over to bind and rivet 
upon us those chains which the British ministry have been so 
long forging. And what have we to oppose to them ? 

6. Shall we try argument? Sir, we have been trying that 
for the last — ten — years. Have we anything new to offer upon 
the subject? Nothing. We have held the subject up in every 
light of which it is capable, but it has been all in vain. Shall 
we resort to entreaty and humble supplication? What terms 
shall we find which have not been already exhausted? 

7. Let us not, I beseech you, sir deceive ourselves longer. 
Sir, we have done everything that could be done to avert the 
storm that is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have 



168 brown's standard elocution 

remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have PROSTRATED 
ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition 
to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. 

8. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances 
have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications 
have been disregarded; and we have been spurned with con- 
tempt from the foot of the throne ! In vain, after these things, 
may we indulge the fond hope of peace and reconciliation. 
There is no longer any room for hope. 

9. If we wish to be free; if we mean to preserve inviolate 
those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long 
contending; if we mean not basely to abandon the noble strug- 
gle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we 
have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious ob- 
ject of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat 
it, sir: We must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God 
of Hosts is all that is left us ! 

10. They tell us, sir, that we are weak — unable to cope 
with so formidable an adversary; but when shall we be 
stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will 
it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard 
shall be stationed in every house ? Shall we gather strength by 
irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of ef- 
fectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging 
the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have 
bound us hand and foot? 

11. Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those 
means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. 
Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, 
and in such a country as that which zve posses, are invincible 
by any force which our enemy can send against us. 

12. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone; there 
is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and 
who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The 
battle is not to the strong alone: it is to the vigilant — the active 
— the brave. 

13. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base 
enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the con- 
test. There is no retreat but in submission or slavery! Our 
chains are forged ! Their clanking may be heard on the 



AND SPEAKER 169 

plains of Boston! The war is inevitable, and let it come! I 
repeat it, sir : Let it come ! 

14. Jt is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen 
may cry, "Peace! peace!" but there is no peace. The war is 
actually begun ! The next gale that sweeps from the north 
will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms ! Our 
brethren arc already in the field ! Why stand ivc here idle? 

15. What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they 
have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at 
the price of chains and slavery? Forbid, it Almighty God ! 
I know not what course others may take, but, as for me, give 
me liberty, or Give Me Death ! 

See also "The Revolutionary Rising," 

LOW PITCH. 

Low Pitch is used in the delivery of solemn, serious, 
pathetic, and devotional thought, and in giving expression to 
emotions of awe, melancholy, gloom, despair, horror, rever- 
ence, and adoration. 

EXERCISES. 

1. Tis a time for memory and for tears. 

2. Now 7 o'er the one-half world nature seems dead. 

3. Toll, toll, toll, thou bell by billows swung. 

4. Tis now the very witching time of night. 



The Loxg Ago. 
b. f. taylor. 



Use Pure Tone, Subdued Force, Median Stress, and Low 
Pitch. This selection is well adapted to cultivate the musical 
element, so pleasing in the expression of pathos and solemnity. 
Avoid everything unreal. 



170 brown's standard elocution 

i. Oh ! a wonderful stream is the river Time, 

As it runs through the realm of tears, 
With a faultless rhythm and a musical rhyme 
And a broader sweep and a surge sublime, 

As it blends in the ocean of years ! 

2. How the winters are drifting like flakes of snow, 

And the summers like birds between, 
And the years in the sheaf, how they come and they go 
On the river's breast with its ebb and flow, 

As it glides in the shadow and sheen ! 

3. There's a Magical Isle up the river Time, 

Where the softest of airs are playing. 
There's a cloudless sky and tropical clime, 
And a song as sweet as a vesper chime, 

And the Junes with the roses are straying. 

4. And the name of this Isle is "the Long Ago," 

And we bury our treasures there ; 
There are brows of beauty and bosoms of snow, 
There are heaps of dust — oh ! we love them so — 

And there are trinkets and tresses of hair. 

5. There are fragments of songs that nobody sings, 

There are parts of an infant's prayer, 
There's a lute unswept and a harp without strings, 
There are broken vows and pieces of rings, 

And the garments our dead used to wear. 

6. There are hands that are waved when the fairy shore 

By the mirage is lifted in air, 
And we sometimes hear through the turbulent roar 
Sweet voices we heard in the days gone before, 

When the wind down the river was fair. 

7. Oh ! remembered for aye be that blessed Isle, 

All the day of life until night; 
And when evening glows with its beautiful smile, 
And our eyes are closing in slumbers aw T hile, 

May the greenwood of soul be in sight. 



AND SPEAKER 171 

For other examples, sec "God's Beautiful City," "David's 
Lament," and "The Suppliant." 



Movement. 



Movement is the degree of rapidity or slowness with 
which words are uttered in continuous discourse. 

i. Movement, like other elements of vocal expression, de- 
pends upon the nature of the thought to be spoken; and as 
the moods of mind, like an April sky, are constantly chang- 
ing, — now buoyant with hope or exhilarated with joy, and 
anon sobered in serious contemplation or depressed by grief, 
there is necessarily little uniformity in the rate of human 
speech. 

2. The slow and measured tread, timed in unison with the 
mournful dirge, suggests gloom and sorrow; while the lively 
step of the merry dancers in fling or reel, betray the utmost 
animation of mind and body. "The grave psalm and the song 
of serious sentiment express, in their measured regularity, the 
adaptation of gentle and moderate movement to tranquil and 
sedate feeling." 

3. A perfect command of every degree of movement is 
essential to correct and effective reading or speaking. Igno- 
rance of this element gives the reading and declamation of our 
pupils that monotonous drawl which renders exercises so in- 
sipid and tedious to visitors. 

4. Appropriate movement is indispensable in rousing and 
retaining the attention of an audience ; hence, no pains should 
be spared to adapt the movement of every selection to the 
sentiment intended to be conveyed. 

CLASSES OF MOVEMENT. 

The natural divisions of Movements are, Rapid, Moderate 



172 brown's standard elocution 

and Slow, with the further subdivisions of very rapid and 
very slow. 

MODERATE MOVEMENT. 

Moderate Movement is used in unimpassioned discourse, 
in the expression of narrative, descriptive and didactic thought, 
and in the beginning of orations. 

The term "Moderate" must not be understood as repre- 
senting a uniform rate. It includes a rate of movement that 
is constantly varying with the sentiment between rapid and 
slow. 



TACT AND TALENT. 

Moderate Movement. 



1. Talent is something, but tact is everything. Talent is 
serious, sober, grave, and respectable; tact is all that, and 
more too. It is not a sixth sense, but it is the life of all the 
five. It is the open eye, the quick ear, the judging taste, the 
keen smell, and the lively touch ; it is the interpreter of all 
riddles, the surmounter of all difficulties, the remover of all 
obstacles. It is useful in all places and at all times; it is useful 
in solitude, for it shows a man into the world; it is useful in 
society, for it shows him his way through the world. 

2. Talent is power, tact is skill; talent is weight, tact is 
momentum ; talent knows what to do, tact knows how to do it ; 
talent makes a man respectable, tact will make him respected; 
talent is wealth, tact is ready money. For all the practical pur- 
poses, tact carries it against talent ten to one. 

3. Take them to the theater, and put them against each 
other on the stage, and talent shall produce you a tragedy that 
shall scarcely live long enough to be condemned, while tact 
keeps the house in a roar, night after night, with its success- 
ful farces. There is no want of dramatic talent, there is no 
want of dramatic tact; but they are seldom together; so we 
have successful pieces which are not respectable, and respect- 
able pieces which are not successful. 



AND SPEAKER 173 

4. Take them to the bar and let them shake their learned 
curls at each other in legal rivalry : talent sees its way clearly, 
but tact is lirst at its journeys end. Talent has many a com- 
pliment from the bench, but tact touches fees. Talent makes 
the world wonder that it gets on no faster, tact arouses as- 
tonishment that it gets on so fast. And the secret is, that it 
has no weight to carry ; it makes no false steps ; it hits the 
right nail on the head ; it loses no time ; it takes all hints ; and, 
by keeping its eye on the weather-cock, is ready to take ad- 
vantage of every wind that blows. 

5. Take them into the church: talent has always some- 
thing worth hearing, tact is sure of abundance of hearers; 
talent may obtain a living, tact will make one ; talent gets a 
good name, tact a great one; talent convinces, tact converts; 
talent is an honor to the profession, tact gains honor from the 
profession. 

6. Take them to court : talent feels its w T eight, tact finds its 
way; talent commands, tact is obeyed; talent is honored with 
approbation, and tact is blessed by preferment. Place them 
in the senate : talent has the ear of the house, but tact wins 
its heart, and has its votes; talent is fit for employment, but 
tact is fitted for it. It has a knack of slipping into place with 
a sweet silence and gfibness of movement, as a billiard-ball in- 
sinuates itself into the pocket. 

7. It seems to know everything, without learning any 
thing. It has served an extemporary apprenticeship; it wants 
no drilling ; it never ranks in the awkw r ard squad ; it has no 
left hand, no deaf ear; no blind side. It puts on no look of 
wondrous wisdom, it has no air of profundity, but plays with 
the details of place as dexterously as a well-taught hand flour- 
ishes over the keys of the piano-forte. It has all the air of 
common-place, and all the force and power of genius. 



SLOW MOVEMENT. 



Slow Movement is used in the expression of sentiments of 
reverence, solemnity, sublimity, grandeur, pathos, aive, melan- 
choly, despair, gloom, adoration and devotion. 



174 brown's standard elocution 

Death of the Wife. 

Slozv Movement. 

A most impressive recitation when well rendered. Keep 
the tone pure and force subdued. Let the pitch vary with the 
change of sentiment. Be natural — be sincere. 

i. She had lain all day in a stupor, breathing with heavy- 
laden breath, but as the sun sank to rest in the far-off western 
sky, and the red glow on the wall of the room faded into dense 
shadows, she awoke and called feebly to her aged partner, who 
was sitting motionless by the bed-side. He bent over his dying 
wife and took her wan, wrinkled hand in his. 

2. "Is it night ?" she asked in tremulous tones, looking 
at him with eyes that saw not. 

"Yes," he answered softly; "it is growing dark." 
"Where are the children?" she queried; "are they all in?" 

3. Poor old man! How could he answer her? The chil- 
dren had slept for years in the old churchyard. 

"The children are safe," answered the old man, trem- 
ulously; "don't think of them, Jane. Think of yourself. Does 
the way seem dark?" 

4. "My trust is in Thee. Let me never be confounded. 
What does it matter if the way is dark?" 

"I'd rather walk with God in the dark, than walk alone in 
the light." 

"I'd rather walk with Him by faith, than walk alone by 
sight." 

5. "John, where's little Charley?" she asked. Her mind 
was again in the past. The grave dust of twenty years had lain 
on Charley's golden hair, but the mother had never forgotten 
him. The old man patted her cold hands that had labored 
so hard that they were seamed and wrinkled and calloused 
with years of toil, and the wedding ring was worn to a mere 
thread of gold — and then he pressed his lips to them and cried ; 
they had encouraged and strengthened him in every trial of 
life. Why, what a woman she had been! What a leader in 
Israel! Always with the gift of prayer or service. They had 
stood at many a death-bed together — closed eyes of loved ones, 



AND SPEAKER 175 

and then sat down with the Bible between them to read the 
promise. Now she was about to cross the dark river alone. 

C. And it was strange and sad to the yellow-haired grand- 
daughter left them to hear her babble of walks in the woods, 
of gathering May flowers and strolling with John, of petty 
household cares that she had always put down with strong, 
resolute hand, of wedding feasts and death bed triumphs; and 
when at midnight she heard the Bridegroom's voice, and the 
old man, bending over her, cried pitifully, and the grand- 
daughter kissed her pale brow, there was a solemn joy in her 
voice as she spoke the names of her children, one by one, as if 
she saw them with immortal eyes, and with one glad smile put 
on immortality. 

7. They led the old man sobbing away, and when he saw 
her again the glad morning sun was shining, the air was 
jubilant with the song of birds, and she lay asleep on the 
couch under the north window where he had seen her so often 
lie down to rest while waiting for the Sabbath bell. And she 
w r ore the same black silk, and the string of gold beads about 
her thin neck and the folds of white tulle. Only now the 
brooch with his miniature was wanting, and in its place was a 
white rose and a spray of cedar — she had loved cedar — she had 
loved to sing over her work : 

"Oh, may I in His courts be seen, 
Like a young cedar, fresh and green. " 

8. But the strange transformations that were there ! The 
wrinkles were gone. The traces of age and pain and weari- 
ness were smoothed out ; the face had grown strangely young, 
and a placid smile was on the pale lips. The old man was awed 
by this likeness to the bride of his youth. He kissed the un- 
responsive lips, and then said softly: 

9. "You have found heaven first, Janet, but you'll come 
for me soon. It's our first parting in more than seventy years, 
but it won't be for long!" 

10. And it was not. The winter snow has not yet fallen, 
and there is another grave, and today would have been their 
diamond wedding ! We had planned much for it, and I wonder 
— I wonder — but no ! Where they are there is neither mar- 
riage nor giving in marriage. 



176 brown's standard elocution 

For other examples of Slow Movement, see "Hamlet's 
Soliloquy" and the fourth stanza of "The Bells. " 



RAPID MOVEMENT. 



Rapid Movement is used in the expression of lively, gay 
and joyous thought and exciting emotions emanating from 
alarm, joy, mirth, or fear. 

Piano Music. 

This piece is adapted for concert recitation. If well ren- 
dered by a dozen students, with appropriate gesture, the effect 
will be very amusing. 

First a soft and gentle tinkle, 
Gentle as the rain-drop's sprinkle, 

Then a stop, 

Fingers drop ; 
Now begins a merry trill, 
Like a cricket in a mill ; 
Now a short, uneasy motion, 
Like a ripple on the ocean, 
See the fingers dance about, 
Hear the notes come tripping out ; 
How they mingle in the tingle 
Of the everlasting jingle, 
Like to hailstones on a shingle, 
Or the dingdong, dangle-dingle. 
Of a sheep-bell ! Double, single, 
Now they come in wilder gushes, 
Up and down the player rushes, 
Quick as squirrels, sweet as thrushes. 
Now the keys begin to clatter 
Like the music of a platter 
When the maid is stirring batter. 
O'er the music comes a change ; 
Every tone is wild and strange ; 



AND SPEAKER 177 

Listen to the lofty tumbling, 

Hear the mumbling, fumbling, jumbling, 

Like the rumbling and the grumbling 

Of the thunder from its slumbering 

Just awaking. Now it's taking 

To the quaking, like a fever-and-ague shaking; 

1 leads are aching, something's breaking. 

Goodness gracious ! Ain't it wondrous, 

Rolling round, above and under us, 

Like old Vulcan's stroke so thunderous? 

Now 'tis louder, but the powder 

Will be all exploded soon; 

For the only way to do, 

When the music's nearly through, 

Is to muster all your muscle for a bang, 

Striking twenty notes together with a clang ; 

Hit the treble with a tw r ang, 

Give the base an awful whang, 

And close the whole performance 

With a slam — bang — w^hang! 

MELODY. 

Melody (Gr. szuect song) is a succession of pleasing tones 
having but a limited compass above or below the initial note, 
with prevailing pitch above the natural. 

i. Melody is one of the most valuable elements the 
speaker may employ in attracting and retaining the attention 
of an audience. 

2. The element is employed in those rhythmical compo- 
sitions, whether prose or poetry, expressing pathos, tranquil 
pleasure and peaceful repose. 

3. To cultivate melodious tones, practice frequently upon 
such words as calm, name, mine, thine, wailing, gone, moaning, 
mound, home, throne, wandering, etc., with effusive utterance, 
pure tone, subdued force, median stress, slightly elevated 
pitch, and long quantity, imparting to your utterance a rich 
musical intonation. Let the tones be sweet, clear, and musical. 



178 brown's standard elocution 

Those Evening Bells. 

thomas moore. 

Excellent for the cultivation of clear, sweet, mellow and 
musical tones. Let the utterance be mainly effusive, the tone 
pure, the force moderate, the prevailing stress median and the 
movement moderate. Avoid affectation. 

i. Those evening bells, those evening bells! 
How many a tale their music tells 
Of youth and home and that sweet time 
When last I heard their soothing chime ! 

2. Those joyous hours are passed away; 
And many a heart that then was gay 
Within the tomb now darkly dwells, 
And hears no more those evening bells. 

3. And so 'twill be when I am gone : 
That tuneful peal will still ring on ; 
While other bards shall walk these dells, 
And sing your praise, sweet evening bells. 



When the Cows Come Home. 

Apply the same elements as above to this selection. Give 
it frequent practice, and your tones will be much improved. 

1. When klingle, klangle, klingle, 

Far down the dusty dingle, 
The cows are coming home; 

Now sweet and clear, now faint and low, 

The airy tinklings come and go, 

Like chimings from the far-off tower. 

Or patterings of an April shower 

That make the daisies grow; 
Ko-ling, ko-lang, kolinglelingle, 
Far down the darkening dingle, 
The cows come slowly home. 



AXD SPEAKER 179 

2. And old-time friends, and twilight plays, 
And starry nights and sunny days, 
Come trooping up the misty ways 

When the cows come home. 

3. Through violet air we see the town, 
And the summer sun a-sliding down, 
And the maple in the hazel glade 
Throws down the path a longer shade, 

And the hills are growing brown ; 
To-ring, to-rang, toringleringle, 
By threes and fours and single 
The cows come slowly home. 

4. The same sweet sound of worldless psalm, 
The same sweet June day rest and calm, 
The same sweet smell of buds and balm, 

When the cows come home. 

MISCELLANEOUS VOCAL EXERCISES. 

The following exercises are designed as a review of pre- 
ceding principles. They should receive much attention. 

Pronounce w 7 ith exaggerated precision the following words : 

Peremptory, comparable, despicable, obligatory, admiralty, 

intricacy, allegorist, conscientiousness, lugubriously, consecu- 

tiveness, i'rrecognizable, tergiversation, irrefragable, hospitable, 

remediable, objurgate. 

SOUND WORDS. 

1. Many words are derived from peculiar sounds, associ- 
ative impressions and phases of nature whose correct pronun- 
ciation often gives them a deeper significance than their 
printed form afifords. 

2. Such words furnish excellent examples for drill in im- 
itative modulation, expressive speech, and play upon words 
in connecting sound with sense. 

3. Pronounce the following words in the most expressive 



180 



BROWN S STANDARD ELOCUTION 



manner possible, so that every element, facial expression, and 
attitude shall be an echo to the sound : 



gay 


clear 


whizz 


dance 


fierce 


breathe 


dark 


hark 


swing 


scream 


quick 


whisper 


hate 


sweet 


crash 


laugh 


rouse 


rumble 


roll 


gush 


roar 


grind 


freeze 


staggering 


bold 


deep 


howl 


clang 


loathe 


shivering 


wild 


cold 


hiss 


dash 


shriek 


clatter 


run 


reel 


drear 


jump 


flash 


staggering 


stop 


giib 


thrust 


splash 


thrill 


wrangle 


old 


long 


cool 


young 


timid 


thunder 






PERSONATION. 







In expressing the following sentiments, emotions and pas- 
sions, the student will place, "He is," or "Is he" before the 
word "superannuated/* as he may wish to declare or ask the 
question; as, "He is superannuated," or "Is he superannu- 
ated?" 

Before attempting to express the thought the student must, 
by an intense mental effort, conceive and intensely feel what 
he is about to utter. 



pity 


disgust 


triumph 


amazement 


grief 


pathos 


contempt 


intoxication 


scorn 


ridicule 


.remorse 


hatred, rage 


repose 


terror 


submission 


exultation, joy 


perplexity 


weariness 


affectation 


humor, laughter 



Medley Drill. 

The following quotations from many pieces afford an ad- 
mirable medley for Vocal and Gesture concert drill. The 
gestures are indicated by italicized words. 



:er 181 

i. Hear me for my cause; and be silent that you may hear. 
Believe me for mine honor; and have respect to mine honor, 
that you may believe. Censure me in your wisdom, and awake 
your" . that you may the better judge. If there be any 

in this assembly — any dear friend of Caesar's— to him 1 bay, 
that Brutus's love to Caesar was not less than his. 

2. Then he buttoned his coat straight up to his chin 
And staidly, solemnly, waded in; 

And his broad brimmed hat he pulled down tight, 
Over his forehead so cold and white. 

3. And see ! she stirs! 

She starts — she moves — she seemes to feel 
The thrill of life along her keel, 
And spurning with her foot the ground, 
With one exulting, joyous bound 
She leaps into the ocean's arms. 

4. Let us extend our ideas over the vast field in which we 
are called to act. Let our object be our country, our whole 
country, and nothing but our country. 

5. Go ? ring the bells and fire the guns, 

And fling the starry banner out! 
Shout Freedom till your lisping ones 
Give back their cradle shout! 

6. Rouse ye, Romans ! rouse ye, Slaves ! 

Have ye brave sons? Look in the next fierce brawl 
To see them die. Have ye fair daughters? _ Look 
To see them live, torn front your arms, disda: 
Dishonored: and if ye' dare call for justice, 
Be answered by the lash. 

7. She leaned far out on the window-sill, 
And shook it forth with a royal will. 

"Shoot if you must this old gray head, 
But spare your country's flag" she said. 



182 brown's standard elocution 

8. Three million of people, armed in the holy cause of 
liberty, and in such a country as this which we possess, are in- 
vincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. 

9. He sets, and his last beams 
Fall on a slave; not such as, swept along 
By the full tide of power, the conqueror led 
To crimson glory and undying fame; 

But — base — ignoble slaves. 

10. Then straightway plunging with all his might, 
Away to the left — his friend to the right, 
Apart they went from this world of sin, 

But at last together they entered in. 

11. Blaze with your serried columns ! 

I will not bend the knee; 
The shackles ne'er again shall bind 
The arm which now is free. 

\2. How the gay sledges, like meteors, flash by, 
Bright for a moment, then lost to the eye; 
Ringing, 

Swinging, 

Dashing they go, 
Over the crust of the beautiful snow. 

13. "To all the truth we tell— we tell," 

Shouted in ecstasies a bell ; 
"Come, all ye weary wanderers, see! 
Our Lord has made salvation free." 

14. And as he spoke he raised the child, 
To dash it 'mid the breakers wild. 

15. You all do know this mantle; 

Look ! in this place ran Cassius' dagger through, 
See what a rent the envious Casca made; 
Through this the well-beloved Brutus stabbed, 
And as he plucked his cursed steel away 
Mark how the blood of Csesar follozved it! 



AND SPEAKER 183 

16. But Douglas round him drew his cloak, 
Folded his arms, and thus he spoke: — 

"My manors, halls and bowers shall still 
Be open at my sovereign's will, 
To each one whom he lists, howe'er 
Unmeet to be the owner's peer; 
My castles are my king's alone, 
From turret to foundation stone, — 
The hand of Douglas is his own." 

17. And lo ! from the assembled crowd 
There rose a shout, prolonged and loud, 
That to the ocean seemed to say, 

"Take her, O bridegroom old and gray, 
Take her to thy protecting arms 
With all her youth and all her charms." 

18. That very night the Romans landed on our coast. I saw 
the breast that had nourished me trampled by the hoof of the 
war-horse, the bleeding body of my father flung amid the blaz- 
ing rafters of our dwelling. 

ig. And, rising on his theme's broad wing, 
And grasping in his nervous hand 
The imaginary battle brand, 
In face of death he dared to fling 
Defiance to a tyrant king! 

20. Flashed all their sabres bare, 
Flashed as they turned in air, 
Sab'ring the gunners there, 
Charging our army, while 
All the world wondered: 
Plunged in the battery smoke. 
Right through the line they broke ; 

Cossack and Russian 
Recced from the sabre stroke, 
Shattered and sundered, 



ORIGINAL DISCOURSE. 



r. Thus far the student has been instructed only in the 
manner of expressing the thoughts of others, While the ability 
to comprehend instantly and to render effectively an author's 
thought's as outlined upon the printed page, is an accomplish- 
ment of great value to all, such an attainment is not sufficient 
for the broad and general culture required by our times and 
institutions. 

2 The responsibilities thrust upon us by the republican 
form of government under which we live, perpetuated in its 
purity and efficiency by the logic of a Choate, the wisdom of a 
Webster, and the eloquence of a Clay, demand attainments of 
a higher order than mere skill in the pathetic, forcible, or 
eloquent repetition of some popular composition. 

3. The citizen who would form at least a unit in the Re- 
public must be competent to wield the pen, and when called 
upon, be prepared to address his countrymen intelligently upon 
the questions of the day. His duty to himself and country de- 
mand that whether he write or speak, his performance should 
be creditable and effective. 

4. A ready, vigorous pen and speech, like reading and 
declamation, come from instruction, practice and criticism. 

EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEECH. 

I. The greatest excellence to which the student, ambitious 
of oratorical fame, may aspire, is comprised in the ability to 
spreak fluently, logically, and effectively, upon any subject, at 
any time, without previous preparation. 

184 



i> SPEAKER 185 

2. This accomplishment may be termed "thinking on one's 
feet." It is not the result of any spontaneous development. It 
comes from study, practice! —work. 

3. The power to charm the heart, and steal away the 
senses, to divert the mind from its own devisings, and hold an 
audience in breathless spell, as the orator paints the rosy tints 
of heavenly longings, or leads the imagination down through 
the labyrinths of wonderland, or depicts with lightning tongue 
and thunder tones, the horrors of the doomed, comes not by 
nature, but by work, — work, — work. 

4. Whether this so-called gift be assisted by the early 
efforts of a Demosthenes declaiming over the sea-beat cliffs of 
Attica, or the harangues of a youthful Clay before a group of 
oxen, perfection in delivery is attained only by frequent and 
long-continued practice, based upon accurate observation and 
zealous study. 

THE TWO FORMS OF EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEECH. 

I. CONVERSATION. 

2. PUBLIC SPEAKING. 

1. Conversation is the general and familiar interchange of 
sentiments. 

2. Xo form of social intercourse furnishes so much human- 
izing enjoyment as -pleasing and entertaining conversation. 
Notwithstanding the pleasure it affords, few people, even among 
the educated classes, are capable of entertaining a company by 
continuous, intelligent discourse. 

3. The student is here reminded that unconnected remarks, 
followed by ambiguous or meaningless monosyllabic rejoinders, 
interspersed with nauseating repetition of such expletives as 
"Yes, indeed,'' "You don't say so/' "You bet," etc., do not con- 
stitute elevating discourse. 

4. Conversation is an art, and as such it is capable of cul- 



186 brown's standard elocution 

tivation to approximate perfection. Success in the higher forms 
of speech depends upon the conversational skill of the aspirant 
for oratorical honors. 

GENERAL RULES FOR CONVERSATION. 

1. Breathe without gasping or attracting attention. 

2. Articulate distinctly, but do not impress your hearers 
with the idea that you are going through an exercise in vocal 
gymnastics. 

3. Be natural; remember it is yourself you are imperson- 
ating, and you will be judged accordingly. 

4. In general, use a full, pure tone, moderate force, radical 
stress, middle pitch, and moderate movement. In those parts 
of your conversation requiring peculiar description and person- 
ation, use the appropriate elements. 

5. Enter into the spirit of the subject with all your mind. 
Cultivate the habit of listening to others. This is at least polite. 
Attention to what others say is the relay from which you are 
enabled to continue your part of the conversation intelligibly 
and agreeably to the other members of your company. 

6. Avoid pedantry, affectation, and all mannerisms calcu- 
lated to detract from the general topic of conversation. 

7. Conceive, summon, and express your best thoughts. 

8. Employ the simplest, purest, and most expressive langu- 
age at your command. 

9. Avoid unpleasant personalities, particularly with refer- 
ence to those who are absent. 

10. Avoid topics of little general interest to your listeners. 

11. However familiar to the company the condition of the 
weather and streets may be, their prolonged discussion is not 
sufficiently important to justify more than a passing remark. 

12. Indulge sparingly in raillery and cutting repartee. A 
merciless wit is never esteemed above a treacherous weapon. 



AND SPEAKER 187 

GENERAL RULES FOR PUBLIC SPEAKING. 

1. Public extemporaneous speaking is the delivery of sen- 
timent without previous written preparation. 

2. The speaker employs the same elements as in conversa- 
tion, btit upon an enlarged scale. To these he may, as occasion 
requires, add depth and fullness to his quality, producing the 
grand tones of the Orotund; he may increase his fofce, raise 
his pitch, and indulge in a greater variety of stress, movement, 
and pauses than in ordinary conversation. In addition to these 
departures he may energize and embellish his delivery by 
gesture and facial expression ; and, generally, he may play upon 
the accidental elements in arousing the emotions of an audience 
more than would be proper in the most animated conversation. 

3. Of all professions recognized by civilized man, probably 
none requires in its perfection so many and varied accomplish- 
ments as that of oratory. The public lecturer who leads the 
van in the march of science for the improvement of society; the 
statesman, who guards the nation's rights and shapes his 
country's destiny; the man of God, who seeks to purify the 
human heart and save a fallen race — all must wield the won- 
drous power of speech. 

4 How far the orators of the past have possessed this 
comprehensive art of arts is largely answered in the social, 
governmental, and religious freedom of modern times. 

GENERAL REQUISITES. 

I The orator should have a liberal education. 

2. He should be actuated by the noblest impulses. 

3. He should be endowed with the highest attributes of 
humanity. 

4. Every physical organ should be subordinate to the will. 

5. He should possess the most extended information upon 



188 brown's standard elocution 

all subjects. To this end, he should have frequent practice in 
reading, conversation, speaking and writing, 

6. The summation of all these qualifications, Cicero tells 
us, marks the perfect man. 

SPECIFIC RULES FOR EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING. 

1. Have something to say worth hearing. 

2. Know more of your subject than do any of your 
auditors. 

3. Be wide awake and thoroughly in earnest. 

4. Believe and feel intensely all you say. 

5. Merge yourself into the thoughts you are uttering. 

6. Look into the eyes of your hearers, not over their heads. 

7. Cultivate facility and elegance of expression by using 
good language at all times. 

8. Endeavor to hold your hearers that they may not wander 
from the subject. 

9. Be yourself ; you cannot personate another with your 
ideas. 

10. Never lose control of your thoughts, your breath, your 
speech, or your temper. 

11. Avoid all forms of slang; no speaker ever exhausted the 
English language. 

12. Have a complete mastery of all the elements of elocu- 
tion — thus your body and limbs are made subjective to the 
mental powers. 

13. Think only of zchat you are going to say; your gram- 
mar, rhetoric and elocution will suggest the manner, 

14. If you have five or ten minutes for preparation, think 
of the proposition only. 

15. Command a faultless articulation, an accurate pronun- 
ciation, and an absolute control of the essential elements of 
vocal expression. 



AN] ER 1&9 

1 6. Carefully study the speeches of eminent orators known 
to be extemporaneous, consider the time, place and circum- 
stance of their delivery. 

17. Study the models furnished by Demosthenes, Cicero, 
Fox. Sheridan, Burke, Webster and Clay, and modern orators 
of recognized ability. 

18. Maintain a constant reserve; the orator must appear 
greater than his theme or his effort. 

19. Hold yourself flexibly erect with an active chest. The 
weight should be supported mainly on the balls of the feet, 
not the heels. 

20. Keep the voice and speech organs moist, not by drink, 
but by chewing a bit of paper just before using the voice. 

21. Avoid great force in the beginning by studied distinct- 
ness and deliberate movement. Your audience must be led by 
measured tones of persuasion gradually up to the more in- 
tensified forms of expression. 

22. In passing from one sentiment or emotion to another, 
strive to feel the emotion before attempting its utterance ; words 
without feeling awake no responsive chord among your hearers. 

23. Commit and frequently recite aloud a few excellent pass- 
ages abounding in decided sentiment, absorbing emotion and 
vehement passion. The possession of the words give the mind 
opportunity to dwell upon the thoughts, and thus their frequent 
conception and utterance trains the nerves, muscles and vocal 
organs to command the required expression at will. 

24. Stop the moment you are done. 

SPEAKING FROM NOTES. 

I. When the speaker has sufficient time to collect and 
arrange his thoughts, he should endeavor to think of all he 
wishes to say upon the subject, and write the heads of his 
thoughts as they occur, and afterward arrange them in the most 
appropriate order. 



190 brown's standard elocution 

2. In general, the most pleasing and entertaining matter 
should appear first. The auditors are never so critical as when 
the speaker steps upon the platform. An unfavorable impres- 
sion once made is too difficult to overcome to justify the speak- 
er's giving it an occasion. 

3. The closing thoughts should possess merit and original- 
ity, and should be spoken with such sincerity, vigor and elo- 
quence that an audience shall respect at least the advocate, if 
not the sentiment he utters. 

4. Do not be tedious. Do not labor to exhaust your theme. 
When you can no longer talk without stopping to think what 
next to say, you are done, and should stop at once. 



Method of Criticism. 



The following plan of estimating the merits of a speaker's 
performance, introduced into a number of literary societies by 
the author, is recommended. It will prove valuable to critics 
of literary societies. The table should be prepared on printed 
sheets and the name of the performer written in the blank, with 
the proper answer placed after each question. This sheet so 
prepared by the critic, and given to the performer, would afford 
the latter much greater benefit than is conferred by the usual 
imperfect systems of criticisms. 



AND SPEAKER 191 

Critic's Report on 

delivered by M 

in the Hall on the evening of 

19.... Grade 

Critic. 

Xote. — An affirmative answer to the following (20) ques- 
tions, indicated by the number 5, denotes the standard of ex- 
cellence. Approximating degrees of this standard are indicated 
by the numbers 4, 3, 2, and 1, in the order named. 

I. EXTRAXCE. 

GRADE. 

Is the entrance easy, graceful, self-possessed? 

II. ATTITUDES. 
Are the attitudes natural, flexible, graceful? 

III. ACTIOX. 

1. Do the motions of the head, trunk and limbs 

harmonize with the changes of thought, sen- 
timent, emotion and passion? 

2. Do the eyes and general facial expression con- 

firm the speaker's statements ? 

3. Do the gestures made for emphasis render the 

speaker's assertions more forcible? 

4. Do the gestures of illustration aid in giving a 

clearer view of the speaker's theme? 

5. Are the gestures graceful, varied, timely, de- 

cisive, significant ? 

IV. ENUNCIATION. 

1. Are the sounds freely, fully, correctly, timely 

and appropriately uttered ? 

2. Is respiration performed without interfering 

with the speaker's enunciation ? 

3. Are the speaker's tones formed without unusual 

effort? ,. 

4. Are the tones free from local or personal 

peculiarities ? 



192 brown's standard elocution 

V. ARTICULATION. 

1. Are the syllables distinctly and correctly artic- 

ulated ? 

2. Does each receive its proper force and quantity ? 

VI. PRONUNCIATION. 

Is each word pronounced according to prevailing 
usage, as represented in the standard dic- 
tionaries ? 

VII. VOCAL EXPRESSION. 

i. Do the tones harmonize in quality, force, 
stress, pitch, movement and quantity with the 
general sentiment ? 

2. Does the speaker's management of slides, waves, 
emphasis, slur, cadence and pauses indicate a 
correct conception of his composition? 

VIII. GENERAL DELIVERY. 

i. Is the speaker's delivery free from the styles 
known as affected, conceited, effeminate, pe- 
dantic, pompous, stagy, over-vehement?. . . . 

2. In direct discourses does the speaker look into 

the eyes of his audience? 

3. In personation and apostrophe does the speaker 

ignore his audience ? 

4. Does the speaker hold the attention of his 

audience ? 

Grade on a basis of 100, 



MISCELLANEOUS SELECTIONS. 



An American Exile. 

isaac hixton brown. 

i. In Norfolk Bay, long years ago, where waved 
The nation's flag from mizzen gaff 
Of frigate, sloop, and other warlike craft, 
A group of naval officers, assembled 
On the flag-ship's quarter-deck, discussed 
With earnestness the act by which the State 
Of South Carolina annulled 
The tariff laws of Congress. 
The President's prompt act, 
Despatching Scott to Charleston, ordering 
The execution of the laws by force, 
Had thrilled the nerves of those who bore 
Their country's arms. 

2. The naval service boasted many men 

Who traced through veins as chivalrous as their sire's 

The blood of Sumter, Pickens, Hayne, 

And other revolutionary patriots ; 

And, conscious of a lineage illustrious 

From those who gave the grand Republic birth, 

Their minds were often filled with polities 

Of State ; and thus the acts of courts 

And legislatures oft became their theme 

In time of peace as much as warlike deeds 

Of Neptune. 

3. One of these, in this debate, 

A handsome, sun-bronzed officer of most 
Commanding mien, became conspicuous 

193 



194 brown's standard elocution 

In warm approval of his State's rash act 

And censure strong of President 

And Congress. While his flashing eye betrayed 

The fierce emotions of his soul, his voice 

Rang fearful maledictions : "Curse the country 

Whose flag from yonder mizzen floats ; the men 

Be cursed, who in the name of government 

Ignore the rights my native State has held supreme. ,, 

4. Then drawing forth his rapier 

As if in frenzied rage : "My sword's my own, 

My heart is loyal to my native State ; 

And here I swear, this blade shall ne'er be drawn 

But in defense of rights this tyrant thing 

Called government usurps, and those its threats 

Would terrify. Its flag be trailed in dust; 

The fate of Carthage be its cursed doom! 

The memory of its present acts, with those 

Who give them shape, go down in blood and shame !" 

5. Such direful imprecations shocked the ears 

Of those who heard ; and, ere the speechless group 
Recovered from their blank amaze, a young 
Lieutenant felled the speaker senseless to 
The deck; then quick before the officer 
Commanding, preferred the charge of treason. 

6. Court-martial trials are speedy in results, 
The sentence, novel in its terms, was heard 
With unfeigned haughtiness and scorn by him 
Whom it deprived of country : 

"The prisoner, hence, for life, shall be consigned 
To vessels cruising in a foreign sea ; 
No tongue to him shall speak his country's name, 
Nor talk to him of aught save daily wants ; 
And ever to his sight that country's flag 
Shall be a token that its power lives 
To carry out this sentence." 



AND SPEAKER 195 

In far-off seas, away from kindred hearts 

And native home, the years passed slowly on ; 

But pride and stubborn will did not desert 

This strange misguided man; his fate he seemed 

To cherish for the cause he still believed 

Would triumph in the end. 

Yet to and fro his narrow bounds he paced, 

Alone amid a frigate's crew. No cheering word 

His yearning heart in time could e'er expect 

From stricken mother, weeping wife, and babes 

By him made worse than orphans, who might blush 

To call him father. Still, above, around, 

In sportive play, the flag he madly cursed, as star 

By star was added to its field of blue, 

In gorgeous folds waved kindly o'er his head, 

As if forgiving his ingratitude. 

And now, as other years rolled sadly by, 

And he was passed from ship to ship, as each 

In turn went home, the lines of grief and frosts 

Of age bore silent evidence of slow decay. 

In time his face was marked with pensive cast, 

A harbinger of sad, repentant thought. 

A sailor, unperceived, took note of him, 

And oft observed him watch the waving flag 

With strange emotion. And once his lips 

Were seen to move : "Thou ever-present curse, 

Reminding me of what I am, of what 

IVe lost, thou Nemesis of nature's wrongs! 

For that I've sinned against my birth, my soul's 

Remorse affirms. How long e'er nature's laws, 

More kind than human heart, will free my eyes 

From thee, thou vengeful witness of my shame? 

I'd tear thee from thy staff, — but when I think 

Of all the tears thou'st witnessed in these eyes, 

At first my curses, then my prayers to God, 

Of secret thoughts conceived within thy sight, 

Thou seem'st so much a friend, I would not blot 

From out thy field a single star — and yet — and yet — 

O soul, when will thy mad resentment cease'" 
******** 



196 brown's standard elocution 

9. Full thirty years had passed since sound 
Of friendly voice had filled his ear, and now 
He paced another deck than one designed 
For heavy armament, — a merchant craft, 
Commissioned while the nation's ships of war 
Were called for duty home to try the cause 
For which this poor, deluded exile gave 
His manhood and his life. 

10. Near set of sun 

The cry of "sail" was heard, and then, 

Against his will, they hurried him below. 

The startling call to quarters reached his ear ; 

And e'er the roll of drum and boatswain's whistle died 

away 
There came a distant "boom" that roused a hope 
He yearned to realize. A moment more, 
A deaf 'ning sound that shook the very keel 
Awoke his heart with joy. He knew and hailed 
The truth. The land, — his land was now at war. 
The foe — his name, it mattered not to him — 
Had struck the challenge blow and filled his soul 
With fire. 

11. O love of Country! Thou art lasting as 
The faith of childhood. Thou art stronger than 
The love of life, — the fear of death ! 

This exiled penitent, this prodigal 
Without a home, would prove himself a man! 
He cried for help to free him from his bonds : 
"Ahoy there ! Men on deck ! For love of God 
Let me not perish in this cell. Unbar the door, 
Take off these chains, and arm me for the fight ! 
O give me air and light beneath the flag ; 
My blood will wash away my curse!" but all 
Was vain. 

12. A tearing shot, that ploughed through side 
And prison bulkhead walls, made clear 

A passage wide enough through which 
He sought his wild desire. 



AM) SPEAKER 197 

But e'er he reached the deck, the foe had lashed 
His ship beside, and countless fierce wild men 
Were leaping down among the feeble crew, 
Who battled hard, but vain, against such odds. 

13. He saw the flag the enemy displayed, 
• A flag unknown, unseen by him before, 

Though strangely like the one he cursed, — now loved 
So much — would die in its defense. 
He wrenched a cutlass from a dying hand. 
And hewed his way among the privateers. 
Where'er he struck, the way was cleared of men 
Like wheat before the blade. His strange demean 
And antique garb amazed the foe, until 
It seemed he'd drive the boarders to their ships. 
At last, his wounds o'ercame his madd'ning strength, 
And sinking to his knee, was soon disarmed, 
But spared the murd'rous stroke by one who knew 
His name and story from a child. 
His glazing eye turned wistful toward the flag, 
Now drooping low, as if to mourn for him: — 
"My country ! thou art now avenged ! my life— 
My wasted life, — I give to thee — to thee." 



Ambition of a Statesman, 
henry clay. 

1. I have been accused of ambition in presenting this 
measure — ambition, inordinate ambition. If I had thought of 
myself only, I should never have brought it forward. I know* 
well the perils to which I expose myself; the risk of alienating 
faithful and valued friends, with but little prospect of making 
new ones, if any new ones could compensate for the loss of 
those we have long tried and loved ; and the honest misconcep- 
tion both of friends and foes. 

2. Ambition? If I had listened to its soft and seducing 
whispers; if I had yielded myself to the dictates of a cold, cal- 
culating and prudential policy, I would have stood still and un- 



198 brown's standard elocution 

moved. I might even have silently gazed on the raging storm, 
enjoyed its loudest thunders, and left those who are charged 
with the care of the vessel of state to conduct it as they could. 

3. I have been heretofore, often unjustly, accused of am- 
bition. Low, groveling souls, who are utterly incapable of 
elevating themselves to the higher and nobler duties of pure 
patriotism — beings who, forever keeping their own selfish ends 
in view, decide all public measures by their presumed influence 
on their aggrandizement — judge me by the venal rule which 
they prescribe to themselves. I have given to the winds those 
false accusations, as I consign that which now impeaches my 
motives. 

4. I have no desire for office, not even the highest. The 
most exalted is a prison, in which the incarcerated incumbent 
daily receives his cold, heartless visitants, marks his weary 
hours, and is cut off from the practical enjoyment of all the 
blessings of genuine freedom. I am no candidate for any office 
in the gift of the people of these States, united or separated; 
I never wish, never expect to be. 

5. Pass this bill, tranquilize the country, restore con- 
fidence and affection in the Union, and I am willing to go home 
to Ashland, and renounce public service forever. I should 
there find, in its groves, under its shades, on its lawns, 'midst 
my flocks and herds, in the bosom of my family, sincerity and 
truth, attachment and fidelity and gratitude, which I have not 
always found in the walks of public life. 

6. Yes, I have ambition ; but it is the ambition of being the 
humble instrument, in the hands of Providence, to reconcile a 
divided people ; once more to revive concord and harmony in 
a distracted land — the pleasing ambition of contemplating the 
glorious spectacle of a free, united, prosperous and fraternal 
people. 



Stand by the Flag, 
joseph holt. 



1. Let us twine each thread of the glorious tissue of our 
country's flag about our heart-strings, and, looking upon our 
homes and catching the spirit that breathes upon us from the 
battle-fields of our fathers, let us resolve that, come weal or 



AND SPEAKER 199 

woe, we will in life and in death, now and forever, stand by 
the Stars and Stripes. They have floated over our cradles ; let 
it be our prayer and our struggle that they shall float over our 
graves. They have been unfurled from the snows of Canada 
to the plains of New Orleans, to the halls of the Montezumas, 
and amid the solitude of every sea, and everywhere, as the 
luminous symbol of resistless and beneficient power, they have 
led the brave and the free to victory and to glory. 

2. It has been my fortune to look upon this flag in foreign 
lands, and amid the gloom of an Oriental despotism, and right 
well do I know, by contrast, how bright are its stars and how 
sublime its inspirations! If this banner, the emblem for us of 
all that is grand in human history, and of all that is transport- 
ing in human hope, is to be sacrificed on the altars of a satanic 
ambition, and thus disappear forever amid the night and 
tempest of revolution, then will I feel (and who shall estimate 
the desolation of that feeling?) that the sun has indeed been 
stricken from the sky of our lives, and that henceforth we shall 
be wanderers and outcasts, with naught but the bread of sorrow 
and of penury for our lips, and with hands ever outstretched 
with feebleness and supplication, on which, in any hour, a 
military tyrant may rivet the fetters of a despairing bondage. 
May God in His infinite mercy save you and me, and the land 
we so much love, from the doom of such a degradation. 

3. No contest so momentous as this has arisen in human 
history, for, amid all the conflicts of men and of nations, the 
life of no such government as ours has ever been at stake. 
Our fathers won our independence by the blood and sacrifice 
of a seven years' war, and we have maintained it against the 
assaults of the greatest power upon the earth ; and the question 
now is, whether we are to perish by our own hands, and have 
the epitaph of suicide written upon our tomb. The ordeal 
through which we are passing must involve immense suffering 
and losses for us all, but the expenditure of not merely hun- 
dreds of millions, but of billions, will be well made, if the result 
shall be the preservation of our institutions. 

4. Could my voice reach every dwelling in Kentucky, I 
would implore its inmates — if they would not have the rivers 
of their prosperity shrink away, as do unfed streams beneath 
the summer heats — to rouse themselves from their lethargy, 



200 brown's standard elocution 

and fly to the rescue of their country before it is everlastingly 
too late. Man should appeal to man, and neighborhood to 
neighborhood, until the electric fires of patriotism shall flash 
from heart to heart in one unbroken current throughout the 
land. 

5. It is a time in which the workshop, the office, the count- 
ing-house and the field may well be abandoned for the solemn 
duty that is upon us, for all these toils will but bring treasure, 
not for ourselves, but for the spoiler, if this revolution is not 
arrested. We are all, with our every earthly interest, em- 
barked in mid-ocean on the same common deck. The howl of 
the storm is in our ears, and "the lightning's red glare is paint- 
ing hell on the sky," and while the noble ship pitches and rolls 
under the lashings of the waves, the cry is heard that she has 
sprung a-leak at many points, that the rushing waters are 
mounting rapidly in the hold. The man who, at such an hour, 
will not work at the pumps is either a maniac or a monster. 



"Rock of Ages." 
Parts in italics are to be sung. 

1. "Rock of ages cleft for me," 

Thoughtlessly the maiden sung ; 
Fell the words unconsciously 

From her girlish, gleeful tongue; 
Sang as little children sing; 

Sang as sing the birds in June ; 
Fell the words like light leaves down 

On the current of the tune — 
"Rock of ages, cleft for me 
Let me hide myself in Thee." 

2. "Let me hide myself in Thee" — 

Felt her soul no need to hide. 
Sweet the song as song could be, 

And she had no thought beside ; 
All the words unheedingly 

Fell from lips untouched by care, 



AND SPEAKER 201 



Dreaming not that they might be 

On some other lips a prayer ; 
"Rock of ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee!' 



'Rock of ages, cleft for me" — 

'Twas a woman sung them now, 
Pleadingly and prayerfully; 

Every word her heart did know. 
Rose the song as storm-tossed bird 

Beats with weary wing the air, 
Every note with sorrow stirred, 

Every syllable a prayer : 
( Rock of ages, cleft for vie, 
Let me hide myself in Thee!" 

( Rock of ages, cleft for me" — 

Lips grown aged sung the hymn, 
Trustingly and tenderly, 

Voice grown weak and eyes grown dim- 
'Let me hide myself in Thee," 

Trembling though the voice and low, 
Ran the sweet strain peacefully, 

Like a river in its flow ; 
Sang as only they can sing 

Who life's thorny path have prest; 
Sang as only they can sing 

Who behold the promised rest : — 
"Rock of ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in Thee." 

"Rock of ages, cleft for me" — 

Sung above a coffin-lid ; 
Underneath, all restfully, 

All life's joys and sorrows hid; 
Nevermore, O storm-tossed soul ! 

Nevermore from wind or tide, 
Nevermore from billow's roll 

Wilt thou need thyself to hide. 



202 brown's standard elocution 

Could the sightless, sunken eyes, 

Closed beneath the soft gray hair, 
Could the mute and stiffened lips 
Move again in pleading prayer, 
Still, aye, still, the words would be, 
"Let me hide myself in Thee!' 



Over the Hill From the Poor House. 

will carleton. 

i. I, who was always counted, they say, 
Rather a bad stick any way, 
Splintered all over with dodges and tricks, 
Known as the "worst of the Deacon's six;" 
I, the truant, saucy and bold, 
The one black sheep in my father's fold, 
"Once on a time," as the stories say, 
Went over the hill on a winter's day — 
Over the hill to the poor-house. 

2. Tom could save what twenty could earn ; 

But givin' was somethin' he ne'er would learn ; 
Isaac could half o' the Scriptur' speak — 
Committed a hundred verses a week; 
Never forgot, an' never slipped ; 
But "Honor thy father and mother" he skipped; 
So over the hill to the poor-house! 

3. As for Susan, her heart was kind 
An' good — what there was of it, mind; 
Nothin' too big, and nothin' too nice, 
Nothin' she wouldn't sacrifice 

For one she loved ; an' that 'ere one 
Was herself, when all was said an' done ; 
An' Charley an' Becca meant well, no doubt, 
But any one could pull 'em about. 



AND SPEAKER 203 

4. An' all o' our folks ranked well, you see, 
Save one poor fellow, and that was me; 
An' when, one dark aiv rainy night 

A neighbor's horse went out o' sight, 
They hitched on me, as the guilty chap 
That carried one end o' the halter-strap. 
An' I think, myself, that view of the case 
Wasn't altogether out o' place; 
My mother denied it, as mothers do, 
But I am inclined to believe 'twas true. 

5. Though for me one thing might be said — 
That I, as well as the horse, was led; 
And the worst of whiskey spurred me on, 

Or else the deed would have never been done. 

But the keenest grief I ever felt 

Was when my mother beside me knelt, 

An' cried, an' prayed, till I melted down, 

As I wouldn't for half the horses in town. 

I kissed her fondly, then an' there, 

And swore henceforth to be honest and square. 

6. I served my sentence — a bitter pill 
Some fellows should take who never will ; 
And then I decided to go "out West," 
Concludin' 'twould suit my health the best ; 
Where, how I prospered I never would tell, 
But Fortune seemed to like me well; 

An' somehow every vein I struck 
Was always bubbling over with luck. 
An' better than that I was steady an' true, 
An' put my good resolutions through. 
But I wrote to a trusty old neighbor an' said, 
"You tell 'em, old fellow, that I am dead, 
An' died a Christian ; 'twill please 'em more, 
Than if I had lived the same as before." 

7. But when this neighbor he wrote to me, 
"Your mother's in the poor-house," says he, 

I had a resurrection straightway 
An' started for her that very day. 



204 brown's standard elocution 

And when I arrived where I was grown, 

I took good care that I shouldn't be known ; 

But I bought the old cottage, through and through, 

Of some one Charley had sold it to ; 

And held back neither work nor gold 

To fix it up as it was of old. 

The same big fire-place, wide and high, 

Flung up its cinders toward the sky ; 

The old clock ticked on the corner shelf — 

I wound it an' set it again myself ; 

An' if everything wasn't just the same, 

Neither I nor money was to blame ; 

Then — over the hill to the poor-house! 

8. One blowing blusterin' winter's day, 
With a team and cutter I started away; 
My fiery nags was as black as coal 

(They some'at resembled the horse I stole) ; 
I hitched, an' entered the poor-house door — 
A poor old woman was scrubbin' the floor ; 
She rose to her feet in great surprise, 
And looked, quite startled, into my eyes; 
I saw the whole of her trouble's trace 
In the lines that marred her dear old face ; 
"Mother!" I shouted, "your sorrows is done! 
You're adopted along o' your horse-thief son, 

Come over the hill from the poor-house!" 

9. She didn't faint ; she knelt by my side, 
An' thanked the Lord, till I fairly cried. 
An' maybe our ride wasn't pleasant and gay, 
An' maybe she wasn't wrapped up that day ; 
An' maybe our cottage wasn't warm an' bright, 
An' maybe it wasn't a pleasant sight, 

To see her a-gettin' the evenin's tea, 
An' frequently stoppin' an' kissin' me ; 
An' maybe we didn't live happy for years, 
In spite of my brothers' and sisters' sneers, 
Who often said, as I have heard, 
That they wouldn't own a prison-bird ; 



AND SPEAKER 205 

(Though they're gettin' over that, I guess, 

For all of 'em owe me more or less) ; 

But I've learned one thing, an' it cheers a man 

In always a-doin' the best he can, 

That whether on the big book, a blot 

Gets over a fellow's name or not, 

Whenever he does a deed that's white, 

It's credited to him fair and right. 

An' when you hear the great bugle's notes, 

An' the Lord divides his sheep and goats ; 

However they may settle my case, 

Wherever they may fix my place, 

My good old Christian mother, you'll see, 

Will be sure to stand right up for me, 

With over the hill from the poor-house! 



Rum's Devastation and Destiny. 

william sullivan. 

A prophecy supposed to have been delivered A. D. 1300 
upon the discovery of distillation. 

1. In your researches after that which you should, at once, 
have known to be impossible, by the laws of nature, you have 
opened a fountain of misery which shall flow for ages. You 
have not contented yourself with pressing out the juices of the 
fruit bestowed upon you and converting these into strong drink 
which you need not — but you have taken this strong drink and 
the harvest, which was given to you for food, and have drawn 
from these a liquid which is not food and which will not 
nourish nor sustain your earthly frame. 

2. This liquid shall be a curse upon you and your descend- 
ants. It shall be known wherever the arts of civilization are 
known. You shall call it the elixir of life. You shall believe 
it to be nutritious to the body and gladdening to the soul. The 
love of it shall grow with the use of it. It shall soothe the 
solitary hour and cheer the festive board. It shall charm away 
your griefs, and be the cause of your rejoicings. It shall be 



206 brown's standard elocution 

the inducement to communion and the bond of friendship. It 
shall be prized alike by the high and the low. It shall be the 
joy of princes as well as the meanest of mortals. It shall be 
the stimulant to laborious toil, and the reward for labor done. 
It shall be bought and sold and make the dealer therein rich. 
It shall yield abundant revenues to sovereignty. Hospitality 
shall be dishonored in not offering it to the guest, and the guest 
shall be disgraced in not receiving it at the hand of his host. 

3. BUT — it shall visit your limbs with palsy; it shall ex- 
tinguish the pride of man; it shall make the husband hateful 
to the wife, and the wife loathsome to the husband; it shall 
annihilate the love of offspring; it shall make members of 
society a shame and a reproach to each other and to all among 
whom they dwell. It shall steal from the virtuous and the 
honorable their good name; and shall make the strong and the 
vigorous to totter along the streets of cities. 

4. It shall pervert the law of habit, designed to strengthen 
you in the path of duty, and bind you in its iron chain. It shall 
disgrace the judge upon the bench, the minister in the sacred 
desk, and the senator in his exalted seat. It shall make your 
food tasteless, your mouth to burn as with a fever, and your 
stomach to tremble as with disease. It shall cause the besotted 
mother to overlay her newborn, unconscious that it dies be- 
neath the pressure of her weight ; the natural cravings of the 
infant shall make it strive to awaken her who has passed, un- 
heeded, to her last long sleep. 

5. The son shall hide his face that he may not behold his 
father's depravity, and the father shall see the object of his 
fondest hopes turn to a foul and bloated carcass, that hurries to 
the grave. It shall turn the children of men into raving maniacs ; 
and the broken ties of blood and affection shall find no relief 
but in the friendly coming of Death. As the seed which man 
commits to the earth comes forth in that which he converts into 
spirit, so shall this product of his own invention be as seed in 
his own heart, to bring forth violence, rapine and murder. 

6. It shall cause man to shut up his fellow-man in the 
solitude of the grated cell. The prisoner shall turn pale and 
tremble in his loneliness, at the presence of his own thoughts; 
he shall come forth to die, in cold blood, by the hand of his 
fellow, with the spectacle of religious homage on a scaffold, 



AND SPEAKER 207 

and amid the gaze of curious thousands. Poverty shall be 
made squalid and odious, even so that Charity shall turn away 
her face in disgust. It shall attract the pestilence that walks, 
even at noonday, in darkness, tc the very vitals of the drunk- 
ard, as carrion invites the far-sighted bird of prey. 

7. The consumer of spirit shall be found dead in the high- 
way, with the exhausted vessel by his side. Yea, the drunk- 
ard shall kindle a fire in his own bosom which shall not depart 
from him till he is turned to ashes. The dropsical drunkard 
shall die in his delirium, and the fluid which has gathered in 
his brain shall smell like spirit and like spirit shall burn. A 
feeble frame, an imbecile mind, torturing pain and incurable 
madness shall be of the inheritance which drunkards bequeath, 
to run with their blood to innocent descendants. 

8. The wise men, who assembled in the halls of legislation, 
shall be blind to this ruin, desolation and misery. Nay, they 
shall license the sale of this poison, and shall require of dig- 
nified magistrates to certify how much thereof shall be sold 
for the "Public Good." 

9. This minister of woe and wretchedness shall roam over 
the earth at pleasure. It shall be found in every country of the 
Christian ; it shall go into every city, into every village and into 
every house. But is shall not visit the country of the heathen, 
nor spread woe and wretchedness among them, but by the 
hands of Christians. 

10. The light of reason shall at length break upon the be- 
nighted and afflicted world. The truth shall be told. It shall 
be believed. The causes of calamity shall be unveiled. The 
friends of the human race shall speak and be respected. Ra- 
tional man shall be ashamed of his follies and his crimes, and 
humbled to the dust that he was so long ignorant of their 
origin. Governments shall be ashamed that they so long toler- 
ated and sustained the most costly and cruel foe that man has 
ever encountered. Avarice itself shall be conscious-stricken 
and penitent. It shall remain where nature placed it for use; 
and it shall be odious in the sight of Heaven and of Earth to 
convert the fruits of the soil into poison. 



208 brown's standard elocution 

Legend of St. Christopher, 
miss MULOCH. 

[Aprobus, a Syrian blacksmith of renowned stature and 
wonderful strength, having determined that he would serve 
none but the mightiest king, went seeking him throughout the 
world. Failing to find whom he sought so long as he trusted 
to his own guidance, he finally asked a thoughtful hermit what 
to do. The hermit directed him to station himself on the bank 
of a dangerous ford, where many pilgrims yearly lost their 
lives in crossing, and to carry over all who required his aid; 
and thus humbly serving his fellow-men, he might serve the 
greatest King, and hope to see him. 

Ere long, Christ the Lord, who holds the seas in the hollow 
of his hand, came to the fording place in the guise of a little 
boy, and asked to be carried over.] 

i. "carry me across/' 

The Syrian heard, rose up, and braced 
His huge limbs to the accustomed toil : 
"My child, see how the waters boil! 

The night-black heavens look angry-faced; 
But life is little loss. 

2. I'll carry thee with joy y 
If needs be, safe as nestling dove; 

For o'er this stream I pilgrims bring, 
In service to one Christ, a King 
Whom I have never seen, yet love!' 

"I thank thee," said the boy. 

3. Cheerful Aprobus took 
The burden on his shoulders great, 

And stepped into the waves once more — 
When, lo ! they, leaping, rise and roar ; 
And 'neath the little child's light weight 
The tottering giant shook. 



AND SPEAKER 209 

4. "Who art thouf" cried he, wild — ■ 
Struggling in the middle of the ford, — 

"Boy as thou lookcst, it scons to me 
The whole world's load 1 bear in thee." 
"Yet, fot the sake of Christ thy Lord, 
Carry me," said the child. 

5. Xo more Aprobus swerved, 
But gained the farther bank ; and then 

A voice cried, "Hence Christopiioros be, 
For carrying, thou hast carried Me, 
The King of Axgels and of Men, — 

The Master thou hast served." 

6. And, in the moonlight blue, 
The saint saw — not the wandering boy, 

But Him who walked upon the sea, 
And o'er the plains of Galilee, — 
Till, filled with mystic, awful joy, 

His dear Lord-Christ he knew. 

7. Oh ! little is all loss, 

And brief the space 'twixt shore and shore, 

If thou, Lord Jesus, on us lay, 

Through the deep waters of our way, 
The burden that Christopiioros bore, — 
To carry thee across ! 



Lasca. 
f. desprez. 



I want free life and I want fresh air; 

And I sigh for the canter after the cattle, 

The crack of the whips like shots in battle, 

The mellay of horns and hoofs and heads 

That wars and wrangles and scatters and spreads ; 

The green beneath and the blue above. 

And dash and danger, and life and love. 



210 brown's standard elocution 

2. And Lasca ! Lasca used to ride 

On a mouse-gray mustang, close to my side, 
With blue serap and bright-belled spur. 
I laughed with joy when I looked at her. 
Little knew she of books or creeds ; 
An Ave Maria sufficed her needs; 
Little she cared, save to be by my side, 
To ride with me, and ever to ride, 
From San Saba's shore to Lavaca's tide. 
She was as bold as the billows that beat, 
She was as wild as the breezes that blow ; 
From her little head to her little feet 
She was swayed in her suppleness, to and fro 
By each gust of passion ; a sapling pine, 
That glows on the edge of a Kansas bluff, 
And wars with the wind when the weather is rough, 
Is like this Lasca, this love of mine. 

3. She would hunger that I might eat, 

Would take the bitter and leave me the sweet ; 
But once, when I made her jealous for fun, 
At something I'd whispered, or looked, or done, 
One Sunday, in San Antonio, 
To a glorious girl on the Alamo, 
She drew from her garter a dear little dagger, 
And — sting of a wasp! — it made me stagger! 
An inch to the left or an inch to the right, 
And I shouldn't be maundering here to-night ; 
But slue sobbed, and, sobbing, so swiftly bound 
Her torn reboso about the wound 
That I quite forgave her. Scratches don't count 
In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

4. Her eye was brown — a deep, deep brown ; 
Her hair was darker than her eye ; 

And something in her smile and frown, 
Curled crimson lip, and instep high, 
Showed that there ran in each blue vein, 
Mixed with the milder Aztec strain, 
The vigorous vintage of old Spain. 



AND SPEAKER 211 

The air was heavy, the night was hot, 
J sat by her side, and forgot — forgot; 
Forgot the herd that were taking their rest; 
Forgot that the air was elose opprest, 
That the Texas norther comes sudden and soon ; 
In the dead of night or the blaze of noon. 
That once let the herd at its breath take fright, 
And nothing on earth can stop the flight ; 
And woe to the rider, and woe to the steed, 
Who falls in front of their mad stampede ! 
Was that thunder? No, by the Lord! 
I sprang to my saddle without a word 
One foot on mine, and she clung behind, 
Away on a hot chase down the wind ! 
But never was fox-hunt half so hard, 
And never w T as steed so little spared. 
For we rode for our lives. You shall hear how we fared 
In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

5. The mustang flew, and we urged him on ; 
There is one chance left, and you have but one — 
Halt, jump to ground, and shoot your horse; 
Crouch under his carcass, and take your chance ; 
And if the steers, in their frantic course, 

Don't batter you both to pieces at once, 
You may thank your star; if not, good-bye 
To the quickening kiss and the long-drawn sigh, 
And the open air and the open sky, 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande. 

6. The cattle gained on us and then I felt 
For my old six-shooter, behind in my belt ; 
Down came the mustang, and down came we, 
Clinging together, and — what was the rest? 
A body that spread itself on my breast, 

Two arms that shielded my dizzy head, 
Two lips that hard on my lips were pressed ; 
Then came thunder in my ears 
As over us surged the sea of steers ; 
Blows that beat blood into my eyes, 
And when I could rise 
Lasca was dead. 



212 brown's standard elocution 

7. I dug out a grave a few feet deep, 

And there in Earth's arms I laid her to sleep ; 

And where she is lying no one knows, 

And the summer shines and the winter snows ; 

And for many a day the flowers have spread 

A pall of petals over her head; 

And the little gray hawk hangs aloof in the air, 

And the sly coyote trots here and there, 

And the black snake glides and glitters and slides 

Into the rift in a cotton-wood tree; 

And the buzzard sails on, 

And comes and is gone, 

Stately and still as a ship at sea ; 

And I wonder why I do not care 

For the things that are like the things that were. 

Does half my heart lie buried there 

In Texas, down by the Rio Grande? 



"O, Bairnies, Cuddle Doon." 

The following poem, which fairly rivals the most exquisite 
and tender of Burns' household lyrics, was written by a com- 
mon Scotch laborer, some fifteen years ago. He was a section- 
hand on the North British railroad and the poem was published 
in a local paper. 

1. The bairnies cuddle doon at nicht 

Wi' muckle faucht an' din ; 
O, try an' sleep, ye waukrife rogues, 

Your father's comin' in. 
You never heed a word I speak, 

I try to gi'e a frown; 
But aye I hap them up an' say, 
"O, bairnies, cuddle doon !" 

2. Wee Jamie wi' the curly heid, 

He aye sleeps next the wa', 
Bangs up an' cries, "I want a piece ;" 
The rascal starts them a'. 



AND SPEAKER 213 



I riii' and fetch them pieces, drinks, 

The stop a wee the soun', 
Then draw the blankets up an' cry, 
"Noo, weanies, cuddle doon!'* 

3. But ere five minutes gang, wee Rab 

Cries out, frae 'neath the claes, 
"Mither, mak' Tarn gi'e owre at ance, 
He's kitt in' wi' his taes." 
The mischief's in that Tarn for tricks, 

He'd bother ha'f the toon; 
But aye I hap them up an' say, 
"O, bairnies, cuddle doon !" 

4. At length they hear their father's fit, 

An' as he steeks the door, 
They turn their faces to the wa ? 

While Tarn pretends to snore. 
"Hae a' the weans been gude?" he asks 

As he pits afif his shoon. 
"The bairnies, John, are in their beds, 

An' lang since cuddled doon." 

5. And just before we bed oorsels, 

We look at oor wee lambs ; 
Tarn has his airm roun' wee Rab's neck, 

And Rab his airm roun' Tarn's. 
I lift wee Jamie up the bed, 

An' as I straik each croon, 
I whisper, till my heart fills up, 
"O, bairnies, cuddle doon!" 

6. The bairnies cuddle doon at nicht 

Wi' mirth that's dear to me ; 
But soon the big warl's cark and care 

Will quaten doon their glee. 
Yet come what may to ilka ane, 

May He what rules aboon. 
Aye whisper, though their pows be bauld, 
"O, bairnies, cuddle doon!" 



214 brown's standard elocution 

Maud Muller. 

Maud Muller, von summer afternoon 

Vas dencling bar in her fadder's saloon. 
She solt dot bier, und singed "Shoo Fly," 

Und vinked at der men mit her lefd eye. 
But ven she looked oud on der shdreed, 

Und saw dem gals all dressed so shweed, 
Her song gifed out on a ubber note, 

Cause she had such a hoss in her troat ; 
Und she vished she had shdamps to shpend, 

So she might git such a Grecian Bend. 
Hans Brinker valked shlowly down der shdreed, 

Shmilin' at all der gals he'd meed ; 
Old Hans vas rich — as I been dold, — 

Had houses und lots, und a barrel of gold. 
He shdopped py der door, und pooty soon 

He valked righd indo dot bier saloon. 
Und he vinked at Maud, und said, "My dear, 

Gif me, of you pblease, a glass of beer." 
She vend to der pblace vere der bier keg shtood, 

Und pringed him a glass dot vas fresh und goot. 
Dot's goot/' says Hans, "dot's a better drink 

As effer I had in mine life, I dink." 
He dalked for a vhile, den said, "Goot day," 

Und up der shdreet he dook his vay. 
Maud hofed a sigh, and said, "Oh, how 

Fde like to been dot olt man's frow, 
Such shplendid close I den vood vear, 

Dot all the gals around vood shdare. 
In dot Central Park I'd drive all tay, 

Und efery evenin' go to der blay." 
Hans Brinker, doo, felt almighty gweer, 

(But clot mite peen von trinkin' bier.) 
Und he says to himself, as he valked along, 

Hummin' der dune of a olt lof song, 
"Dot's der finest gal I efer did see, 

Und I vish dot she my wife.cood be," 
But here his solillogwy came to an end. 

As he dinked of der gol' dot she might shbend ; 



AND SPEAKER 215 

Und he maked up his mind dot as for him, 

He'd marry a gal mit lots of "din." 
So he vent righd off dot fery day, 

Und married a vooman old and gray. 
He vishes now, but all in vain, 

Dot he vas free to marry again ; 
Free as he vos dot afdernoon, 

Yen he med Maud Muller in der bier saloon. 
Maud married a man without some "soap" — 

He vas lazy, doo — but she did hope 
Dot he'd get bedder when shildren came ; 

But vhen dey had, he vas yoost der same. 
Und ofden now dem dears vill come. 

As she sits alone ven her day's vork's done, 
Und dinks of der day Hans called her "my dear," 

Und asked her for a glass of bier; 
Bilt she don'd comblain, nor efer has, 

Und onloy says, "Dot coodn't vas." 



A Railway Matinee. 

R. J. BURDETTE. 



The last time I ran home over the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy we had a very small, but select and entertaining party 
on the train. It was a warm day, and everybody was tired 
with the long ride and oppressed by the heat. The precise 
woman, with her hat swathed in an immense blue veil, who 
always parsed her sentences before she uttered them, utterly 
worn out and thoroughly lonesome, was glad to respond to the 
pleasant nod of the big rough man who got on at Monmouth, 
and didn't know enough grammar to ask for the mustard, so 
that you could tell whether he wanted you to pass it to him or 
pour it on his hair. 

The thin, troubled-looking man with the sandy goatee, who 
stammered so dreadfully that he always forgot what he wanted 
to say before he got through wrestling with any word with a 
"W" in it, lit up with a tremulous, hesitating smile, as he 
noticed this indication of sociability, for like most men who 



216 brown's standard elocution 

find it extremely difficult to talk at all, he wanted to talk all 
the time. 

And the fat old gentleman sitting opposite him, who was so 
deaf that he could not hear the cars rattle, and always awed 
and bothered the stammerer into silence by saying "Hey?" in 
a very imperative tone, every time he got in the middle of a 
hard word, cocked his irascible head on one side as he saw this 
smile, and after listening intently to dead silence for a minute, 
suddenly broke out with such an emphatic, impatient, "Hey?" 
that everybody in the car started up and shouted nervously 
and ungrammatically, "I didn't say nothing!" with the excep- 
tion of the woman with the blue veil, who said: "I said 
nothing." 

The fat old gentleman was a little annoyed and startled by 
such a chorus of responses, and fixing his gaze still more in- 
tently upon the thin man, said defiantly: 

"Wha'say?" 

"I-I-I-I w-w-wuh-wuh-wasn'-wasn' I wasn' s-s-sp — 

speak — " 

"Hey?" roared the fat man. 

"He wa'n't sayin' nauthin'," shouted the big rough man, 
nodding friendly encouragement to the thin man; "he hain't 
opened his mouth !" 

"Soap in the South?" queried the fat old gentleman, im- 
patiently. "Wha' for?" 

"Mouth, mouth," explained the precise woman, with im- 
pressive nicety. "He said 'opened his mouth.' The gentleman 
seated directly opposite you was — " 

"Offers to chew what?" cried the fat old gentleman in 
amazement. 

"Sir," said the precise woman, "I made no reference what- 
ever to chewing. You certainly misunderstood me." 

The thin man took courage from so many reinforcements, 
and broke in : 

"I-I-I-I d-d-d-dud-d-u-d-d-u-d-don't don't— I don't ch-ch- 
ch— " 

"Hey?" shouted the fat gentleman. 

"He don't chaw nauthin'!" roared the big rough man, in 
a voice that made the car windows rattle. "He wa'n't a talkin' 
when you shot off at him !'" 



AND SPEAKER 217 

"Who got off?" exclaimed the fat old gentlemen. "Wha'd 
he get off for?" 

"You don't appear to comprehend clearly what he stated," 
shrieked the precise woman. "No person has left the train." 

"Then wha'd he say so for?" shouted the fat man. 

"Oh!" said the thin man, in a surprising burst of fluency; 
"he-he-de-d-d did-did— " 

"Who did?" queried the fat man, talking louder than any 
one else. 

" X um-num-nimi-num-n-no-nobody. He — he — d d-d-d-dud- 
didn't didn't s — " 

"Then wha' made you say he did?" howled the deaf man. 

"You misunderstand him," interrupted the precise woman. 
"He was probably about to remark that no reference what- 
ever had been intentionally made to the departure of any per- 
son from the train, when you interrupted him in the midst of 
an unfinished sentence, and hence obtained an erroneous im- 
pression of the tenor of his remarks. He meant no offense — " 

"Know a fence?" roared the fat man. "Of course I know a 
rence !" 

"He hain't got middlin' good hearin," yelled the big man, 
as apologetically as a steam whistle could have shrieked it. 
"Y'ears kind of stuffed up !" 

"Time to brush up?" cried the fat man. "Wha' for?" 

"No," shrieked the precise woman ; "he remarked to the 
other gentleman that your hearing appeared to be rather de- 
fence!" 

"His father a detective?" hooted the fat gentleman, in 
amazement. 

"X"-n-n-n-nun-nun-no!" broke in the thin man; "h-h-h-h- 
huh-huh-he-s-s-sa-sa-said you w-w-w-wuh was a little dud-dud 
— was a little deaf?" 

"Said I was a thief?" howled the fat man, a scarlet tornado 
of wrath ; "said I was a thief ! What'd d'ye mean? Show him 
to me! Who says I'm a thief? Who says so?" 

"Now," shouted the big rough man, "nobody don't say ye 
ain't no thief. I jest saved as how we didn't git along very 
well. Ye see he," nodding to the thin man, "he can't talk very 
well, an'—" 

"Wh-wh-wh-why c-c-can't "I t-t-t-tut-tut-tut-talk ?" broke 



218 brown's standard elocution 

in the thin man, white with rage. "I-I-I-Fd like t-t-to know 
wh-wh-wh-what's the reason I c-c-can't tut-tut-talk as w-w-w- 
vvell as any bub-bub-body that's bub-bub-bub-been tut-tut talk- 
ing on this car ever s-s-s-since the tut-tut-tut — " 

"Hey?" roared the fat man, in an explosion of indignant 
suspicion. 

"I was sayin'," howled the big rough man, "as how he didn't 
talk middlin' well—" 

"Should say so," growled the fat man, in tones of intense 
satisfaction. 

"And," the big rough man went on, yelling with delight at 
having made the old party hear something, "and you can't hear 
only tollable—" 

"Can't hear?" the fat old gentleman broke out in a resonant 
roar. "Can't hear ! Like to know why I can't hear ! Why 
can't I? If I couldn't hear better than half the people on this 
train I'd cut off my ears ! Can't hear ! It's news to me if I 
can't. I'd like to know who — " 

"Burlington !" yelled the brakeman. "Chang' car f V 
Keokuk, Ceed Rap's an' For' Mad'son! This car f'r Omaha? 
Twen' min'ts f'r supper!" 

And but for this timely interruption, I don't think our pleas- 
ant little party would have got out of that snarl this side of San 
Francisco. 



The Man Who Apologized. 

It was at the corner of Woodward avenue and Congress 
street, and the time was ten o'clock in the forenoon. A citizen 
who stands solid at two hundred pounds was walking along 
with bright eyes, and the birds singing in his heart, when all 
at once he found himself looking up at the cloudy heavens, 
and a voice up the street seemed to say : — 

"Did you see the old duffer strike that icy spot and claw 
for grass?" 

Then another voice down the street seemed to say : — 

"You bet I did ! He's lyin' there yit, but he'd get right up 
if he knew how big his foot looked !" 

The solid citizen did get up. The first thing he saw was 
the beautiful city spread out before him. The next thing was 



AND SPEAKER 219 

a slim man with bone-colored whiskers, who was leaning against 
a building and laughing as if his heart would break. 

"I can knock your jaw off in three minutes!" exclaimed the 
citizen, as he fished for the end of his broken suspender. 

The slim man didn't deny it. He hadn't time. He had his 
hands full to attend to his laughing. The solid man finally 
found the suspender, counted up four missing buttons and his 
vest split up the back, and slowly went on, looking back and 
wondering whether he could be held for damages to the side- 
walk. He had been in his office about ten minutes, and had 
just finished telling a clerk that an express team knocked him 
down, when in came the slim man with bone-colored whiskers. 
The solid man recognized him and put on a frown, but the 
other held out his hand and said : — 

"Mister, I came to beg your pardon. You fell on the walk 
and I laughed at you, but — ha ! ha ! ha ! ! — upon my soul, I 
couldn't help it. It was the — ha! ha! ha!— funniest sight I 
ever saw, and — oh ! ho ! ho ! ho ! ha ! ha ! — I couldn't help 
laughing!" 

"I want none o' your penitence and none o' your company !" 
sharply replied the solid man, and the other went out. 

In about an hour the "fallen man" had to go over to the 
express office. The man with the bone-colored whiskers was 
there with a package, and he reached out his hand and began : — 

"Sir, I ask your forgiveness. I know what belongs to dig- 
nity and good manners, but — but — ha ! ha ! — when I saw your 
heels shoot out and your shoulders — ha ! ha ! ha ! — double up, 
I had to— ho ! ha ! ha ! ha ! ah-h-h-h !" 

"I'll lick you if I ever get a good chance!" remarked the 
citizen, but yet the man sat down on a box and laughed till 
the tears came. 

In the afternoon as the citizen was about to take a car for 
home, some one touched him on the elbow. It was the man 
with the bone-colored whiskers. His face had a very serious, 
earnest look, and he began : — 

"Citizen, I am positively ashamed of myself. I am going 
to settle in Detroit, and shall see you often. I want to ask your 
forgiveness for laughing at you this morning." 

He seemed so serious that the solid man began to relax his 
stern look, and he was about to extend his hand, when the 
other continued : — 



220 brown's standard elocution 

"You see we are all — ha! ha! ha! liable to accident. I, 
myself, have often — ha ! ha ! ha ! — struck an icy spot and — ho ! 
ho ! ho ! ha ! ha ! — gone down to grass — ah ! ha ! ho ! ha ! ho ! 
ha !" 

The solid citizen withdrew his hand, braced his feet, drew 
his breath and struck to mash the other fine. His foot slipped, 
and the next he knew he was plowing his nose into the hard 
snow. When he got up the man with the bone-colored whisk- 
ers was hanging to a hitching-post, and as black in the face 
as an old hat. The citizen should have killed him, then and 
there, but he didn't. He made for a car like a bear going 
over a brush fence, and his efforts^ to look innocent and un- 
concerned after he sat down, broke his other suspender dead 
in two. Such is life. No man can tell what an icy spot will 
bring forth. 



Beautiful Things, 
ellen p. allerton. 



1. Beautiful faces are those that wear — 
It matters but little if dark or fair — 
Whole-souled honesty printed there. 

2. Beautiful eyes are those that show, 

Like crystal panes where hearth-fires glow, 
Beautiful thoughts that burn below. 

3. Beautiful lips are those where words 
Leap from the heart like songs of birds, 
Yet whose utterance prudence girds. 

4. Beautiful hands are those that do 
Work that is earnest and brave and true, 
Moment by moment, the long day through. 

5. Beautiful feet are those that go 
On kindly ministries, to and fro — 
Down lowliejst ways, if God wills it so. 



AND SPEAKER 221 

6. Beautiful shoulders are those that bear 
Ceaseless burdens of hourly care 
With patient grace and daily prayer. 

7. Beautiful lives are those that bless — 
Silent rivers of happiness, 

Whose hidden fountains but few may guess. 

8. Beautiful twilight at set of sun, 
Beautiful goal, with race well won, 
Beautiful rest, with work well done. 

9. Beautiful graves, where grasses creep, 
Where brown leaves fall, where drifts lie deep 
Over worn-out hands — oh, beautiful sleep ! 



Prayer and Potatoes. 

rev. j. t. pettee. 

i. An old lady sat in her old arm chair, 

With wrinkled visage and disheveled hair, 

And pale and hunger-worn features ; 
For days and for weeks her only fare, 
As she sat there in her old arm-chair, 

Had been potatoes. 

2. But now they were gone; of bad or good, 
Xot one was left for the old lady's food 

Of those potatoes ; 
And she sighed and said, "What shall I do? 
Where shall I send, and to whom shall I go 

For more potatoes ?" 

3. And she thought of the deacon over the way, 
The deacon so ready to worship and pray, 

Whose cellar was full of potatoes, 
And she said, "I will send for the deacon to come ; 
He'll not mind much to give me some 

Of such a store of potatoes." 



222 brown's standard elocution 

4. And the deacon came over as fast as he could, 
Thinking to do the old lady some good, 

But never for once of potatoes ; 
He asked her at once what was her chief want, 
And she, simple soul, expecting a grant, 

Immediately answered, "Potatoes." 

5. But the deacon's religion didn't lie that way; 

He was more accustomed to preach and to pray, 
Than to give of his hoarded potatoes ; 

So, not hearing of course, what the old lady said, 

He rose to pray with uncovered head, 
But she only thought of potatoes. 

6. He prayed for patience, and wisdom, and grace, 
But when he prayed, "Lord, give her peace/' 

She audibly sighed, "Give potatoes;" 
And at the end of each prayer which he said, 
He heard, or thought that he heard in its stead, 

That same request for potatoes. 

7. The deacon was troubled ; knew not what to do ; 
Twas very embarrassing to have her act so 

About "those carnal potatoes !" 
So, ending his prayer, he started for home; 
But, as the door closed behind him, he heard a deep groan, 

"Oh, give to the hungry, potatoes!" 

8. And that groan followed him all the way home ; 
In the midst of the night it haunted his room — 

"O, give to the hungry, potatoes!" 
He could bear it no longer ; arose and dressed : 
From his well-filled cellar taking in haste 

A bag of his best potatoes. 

9. Again he went to the widow's lone hut; 
Her sleepless eyes she had not shut; 
But there she sat in that old arm-chair, 
With the same wan features, the same sad air; 
And, entering in, he poured on the floor 

A bushel or more from his goodly store, 
Of choicest potatoes. 



AND SFEAKER 223 

10. The widow's heart leaped up for joy, 
Her face was haggard and wan no more. 
"Now," said the deacon, "shall we pray?" 
"Yes, 1 ' said the widow, "now you may." 
And he kneeled him down on the sanded floor, 
Where he had poured his goodly store, 
And such a prayer the deacon prayed, 
As never before his lips essayed; 
Xo longer embarrassed, but free and full, 
He poured out the voice of a liberal soul, 
And the widow responded aloud "amen!" 
But said no more of potatoes. 

ii. And would you, who hear this simple tale, 
Pray for the poor, and praying, "prevail?" 
Then preface your prayers with alms and good deeds : 
Search out the poor, their wants and their needs : 
Pray for peace, and grace, and spiritual food, 
For wisdom and guidance — for all these are good — 
But don't forget the potatoes. 



The Soldier Tramp, 
don santiago carlino. 

1. "Yer honor, I pleads guilty; I'm a bummer; 

I don't deny the cop here, found me drunk ; 
I don't deny that through the whole long summer 

The sun-warmed earth has been my only bunk. 
I han't been able fur to earn a livin' ; 

A man with one leg planted in the tomb 
Can't get a job — an' I've a strong misgivin' 

'Bout bein' cooped up in a Soldiers' Home. 

2. " 'Whar did I lose my leg?' at Spottsylvania — 

Perhaps you've read about that bloody fight — 
But then I guess the story won't restrain you 
From doin' what the law sets down as right. 



224 brown's standard elocution 

I'm not a vag from choice, but through misfortune, 
An' as for drink — well, all men have their faults, 
An' judge, I guess I've had my lawful portion 
O' rough experience in prison vaults. 

3. "I served as private in the Tenth New Jersey, 
An' all the boys'll say I done w'at's right — 
Thar' ain't a man can say that Abram Bursey 

War ever found a-shirkin' in a fight; 
Right in the hell-born frightful roar o' battle, 

Whar' shot and shell shrieked through the darksome 
wood, 
Amid the blindin' smoke and musket's rattle 
You'd always find me doin' the best I could. 

4. "We had a brave ol' feller for a colonel — 

We called him Sweety, but his name was Sweet — 
Why, judge, I swear it by the Great Eternal, 
That brave ol' fellow'd rather fight than eat! 
An' you could alius bet your bottom dollar 
In battle Sweet'd never hunt a tree — 
He'd alius dash into the front an' holler : 
'Brace up, my gallant boys, an' foller me !' 

5. "Well, just afore the Spottsylvania battle 

Ol' Sweety cum to me an' says, says he, 
T tell you, Abe, 'taint many things'll rattle 

A tough ol' weather-beaten chap like me; 
But in my soul I've got a feelin' 

That I'm a-goin' to get a dose to-day, 
An' 'taint no use for me to be concealin' 

The skittish thoughts that in my bosom play. 

6. " 'Fur many years you've been my neighbor, Bursey, 

An' I've alius found you squar' an' true — 
Back in our little town in old New Jersey 
No one has got a better name than you. 
And now I want your promise, squar'ly given 

That if our cause to-day demands my life, 
An' you yourself are left among the livin' 

You'll take me back an' lay me by my wife.' 



AND SPEAKER 225 

7. "Well, judge, that day, amidst the most infernal 

An' desperate bloody tight I ever seed, 
'Way up in front 1 saw the daring colonel 

Throw up his hands and tumble off his steed. 
In half a minute I was bendin' o'er him, 

An' seein' that he wasn't killed outright, 
I loaded him upon my back an' bore him 

Some little distance back out o' the fight. 

8. "The blood from out a ghastly wound was flowing 

An' so I snatched the shirt from off my back, 
For I could see the brave ol' man war goin' 

To die, unless I held that red tide back. 
An' purty soon I seed he was revivin' 

An' heard him whisper; 'Abe, you've saved my life, 
Yer old w t oo1 shirt, along with yer connivin' 

Has kept me from that grave beside my wife/ 

9. "Well, judge, w r hile I stood thar beside him schemin' 

On how to get him in a doctor's care, 
A ten-pound shell toward us come a screamin' 

Just like a ravin' demon in the air, 
An' when it passed I found myself a-lying 

Across ol' Sweety's body, an' I see 
That tarnal shell that by us went a-flyin' 

Had tuck my leg along for company. 

10. "Well, judge, that's all, 'cept when the war was over 

I found myself a cripple, an' since then 
I've been a sort o' shiftless, worthless rover, 

But jest as honest as the most of men. 
I never stole a dime from livin' mortal, 

Xor never harmed a woman, child nor man — 
I've simply been a bum, and hope the court'll 

Be just as easy on me as it can." 

11. Then spake the judge : "Such helpless, worthless creatures 

Should never be allowed to bum and beg ; 
Your case, 'tis true, has some redeeming features, 
For in your country's cause you lost a leg. 



226 brown's standard elocution 

And yet I feel the world needs an example 
To check the tendency of men to roam; 

The sentence is that all your life your camp 
Be in the best room in my humble home." 

12. The soldier stared! Dumb! Silent as a statue, 
Then in a voice of trembling pathos, said : 
"Judge, turn your head and give me one look at you — 

That voice is like an echo from the dead." 
Then forward limped he, grimy hand extended; 

While tears adown his sunbrowned cheeks did roll, 
And said, with slang and pathos strangely blended : 
"Why, Colonel Sweety, bless your brave ol' soul !" 



Becalmed. 



i. It was as calm as calm could be, 
A death still night in June; 
A silver sail on a silver sea 
Under a silver moon. 

2. Not the least air the still sea stirred, 

But all on the dreaming deep 
The white ship lay, like a white sea-bird, 
With folded wings, asleep. 

3. For a long, long month, not a breath of air, 

For a month not a drop of rain; 
And the gaunt crew watched in wild despair, 
With a fever in throat and brain. 

4. And they saw the shore, like a dim cloud stand 

On the far horizon sea; 
It was only a day's short sail to the land 
And the haven where they would be. 

5. Too faint to row — no signal brought 

An answer far or nigh ; 
"Father, have mercy, leave us not 
Alone on the deep to die!" 



AND SPEAKER 227 

6. And the gaunt crew prayed on the decks above 

And the women prayed below : 
"One drop of rain, for God's great love! 
O God ! for a breeze to blow !" 

7. But never a shower from the skies would burst, 

And never a breeze would come ; 
O Heaven ! to think that man can thirst 
And starve in sight of home. 

8. But out to sea with the drifting tide, 

The vessel drifted away; 
Till the far-off shore, like the dim cloud, died, 
And the wild crew ceased to pray. 

9. Like fiends they glared, with their eyes aglow 7 , 

Like beasts with hunger wild ; 
But a mother knelt in the cabin below, 
By the bed of her little child. 

10. It slept, and lo J< in its sleep it smiled, 

A babe of summers three; 
"O Father ! save my little child, 
Whatever comes to me!" 

11. Calm gleamed the sea; calm gleamed the sky, 

No cloud, no sail, in view, 
And they cast them lots for who should die 
To feed the starving crew. 

12. Like beasts they glared with hunger wild, 

And their red, glazed eyes aglow ; 
And the death lot fell on the little child 
That slept in the cabin below. 

13. And the mother shrieked in wild despair: 

"O God ! my child, my son ! 
They will take his life; it is hard to bear; 
Yet, Father, Thy will be doner 



228 brown's standard elocution 

14. And she waked the child from its happy sleep, 

And she kneeled by the cradle bed: 
"We thirst, my child, on the lonely deep — 
We are dying, my child, for bread. 

15. "On the lone, lone sea, no sail — no breeze — 

Not a drop of rain in the sky; 
We thirst — we starve — on the lonely seas, 
And thou, my child, must die !" 

16. She wept; what tears her wild soul shed 

Not I, but God knows best; 
And the child rose up from its cradle bed, 
And crossed its hands on its breast. 

17. "Father," he lisped, "so good — so kind — 

Have pity on mother's pain; 
For mother's sake a little wind — 
Father, a little rain!" 

18. And she heard them shout for the child from the deck, 

And she knelt on the cabin stairs : 
"The child ! the child" they cried, "stand back, 
And a curse on your idiot prayers !" 

19. And the mother rose in her wild despair, 

And she bared her throat to the knife: 
"Strike — strike — me — me; but spare, oh! spare 
My child, my dear son's life!" 

20. O God ! It was a ghastly sight ; 

Red eyes like flaring brands, 
And a hundred belt knives flashing bright 
In the clutch of skeleton hands. 

21. "Me — me — strike — strike — ye fiends of death!" 

But soft through the ghastly air 
Whose falling tear was that ? Whose breath 
Waves through the mother's hair? 



AND SPEAKER 229 

22. A flutter of sail — a ripple of seas — 
A speck on the cabin pane ; 
O God ! it is a breeze — a breeze — 
And a drop of blessed rain ! 

2$. And the mother rushed to the cabin below, 
And she wept on the babe's bright hair — 
"The sweet rain falls; the sweet winds blow; 
Our Father has heard thy prayer !" 

24. But the child had fallen asleep again; 
And lo! in its sleep it smiled. 
"Thank God !" she cried, "for His wind and His rain — 
Thank God for my little child !" 

1. "Give the Christians to the lions T was the savage Roman's 

cry, 
And the vestal virgins added their voices shrill and high, 
And the Caesar gave the order, "Loose the lions from their 

den! 
For Rome must have a spectacle worthy of gods and 

men." 

2. Forth to the broad arena a little band was led, 

But words forbear to utter how the sinless blood was shed. 
No sigh the victims proffered, but now and then a prayer 
From lips of age and lips of youth rose upward on the air ; 
And the savage Caesar muttered, "By Hercules ! I swear, 
Braver than gladiators these dogs of Christians are." 

3. Then a lictor bending slavishly, saluting with his axe, 
Said, "Mighty Imperator! the sport one feature lacks: 
We have an Afric lion, savage, and great of limb, 
Fasting since yester even ; is the Grecian maid for him ?" 

4. The Emperor assented. With a frantic roar and bound, 
The monster, bursting from his den, gazed terribly around, 
And toward him moved a maiden, slowly, but yet serene ; 

"By Venus !" cried the Emperor, "she walketh like a 
queen !" 



230 brown's standard elocution 

5. Unconscious of the myriad eyes she crossed the blood- 

soaked sand, 
Till face to face the maid and beast in opposition stand ; 
The daughter of Athene, in white arrayed, and fair, 
Gazed on the monster's lowered brow, and breathed a 

silent prayer, 
Then forth she drew a crucifix and held it high in air. 

6. Lo, and behold ! a miracle ! the lion's fury fled, 

And at the Christian maiden's feet he laid his lordly head, 
While as she fearlessly caressed, he slowly rose, and then, 
With one soft, backward look at her, retreated to his den. 
One shout rose from the multitude, tossed like a stormy 

sea: 
"The gods have so decreed it; let the Grecian maid go 

free!" 

7. Within the catacombs that night a saint with snowy hair 
Folded upon his aged breast his daughter young and fair ; 
And the gathered brethren lift a chant of praise and 

prayer ; 
From the monster of the desert, from the heathen fierce 

and wild, 
God has restored to love and life his sinless, trusting child. 



Speech in Vindication. 

robert emmet. 

I. My Lords : What have I to say, why sentence of death 
should not be pronounced on me, according to law? I have 
nothing to say that can alter your predetermination, or that 
it would become me to say, with any view to the mitigation 
of that sentence which you are here to pronounce, and which 
I must abide. But I have much to say which interests me 
more than that life which you have labored to destroy. I 
have much to say, why my reputation should be rescued from 
the load of false accusation and calumny which has been heaped 
upon it. 



AND SPEAKER 231 

2. Were 1 only to suffer death, after being adjudged guilty 
by your tribunal, I should bow in silence and meet the fate 
that awaits me, without a murmur. But the sentence of the 
law which delivers my body to the executioner, will, through 

"the ministry of that law, labor in its own vindication to con- 
sign my character to obloquy, for there must be guilt some- 
where; whether in the sentence of the court or in the catastro- 
phe, posterity must determine. 

3. When my spirit shall be wafted to a more friendly port ; 
when my shade shall have joined the bands of those martyred 
heroes who have shed their blood on the scaffold and in the 
field, in defense of their country and virtue, — this is my hope: 
I wish that my memory and name may animate those who 
survive me, while I look down with complacency on the de- 
struction of that perfidious government which upholds its 
domination by blasphemy of the Most High. 

4. My lord, shall a dying man be denied the legal privilege 
of exculpating himself, in the eyes of the community, from an 
undeserved reproach thrown upon him during his trial, by 
charging him with ambition, and attempting to cast away, for 
a paltry consideration, the liberties of his country? Why, 
then, insult me? or, rather, why insult justice, in demanding of 
me why sentence of death should not be pronounced? 

5. I am charged with being an emissary of France! An 
emissary of France! And for what end? It is alleged that I 
wished to sell the independence of my country ! And for what 
end? Was this the object of my ambition? and is this the 
mode by which a tribunal of justice reconciles contradictions? 
Xo, I am no emissary; and my ambition was to hold a place 
among the deliverers of my country ; not in my power, nor in 
profit, but in the glory of the achievement ! 

6. Sell my country's independence to France ! And for 
what? Was it for a change of masters? No, but for am- 
bition ! O my country, was it personal ambition that could 
influence me! Had it been the soul of my actions, could I not 
by my education and fortune, by the rank and consideration 
of my family, have placed myself among the proudest of my 
oppressors? My country was my idol; to it I sacrificed every 
selfish, every endearing sentiment ; and for it I now ofifer up 
my life. 



232 brown's standard elocution 

7. No, my lord; I acted as an Irishman, determined on 
delivering my country from the yoke of a foreign and unrelent- 
ing tyranny; and from the more galling yoke of a domestic 
faction, which is its joint partner and perpetrator in the par- 
ricide, whose reward is the ignominy of existing with an ex- 
terior of splendor and a consciousness of depravity. It was the 
wish of my heart to extricate my country from this doubly- 
riveted despotism ; I wished to place her independence beyond 
the reach of any power on earth ; I wished to exalt her to that 
proud station in the world. 

8. Let no man dare, when I am dead, to charge me with 
dishonor ! let no man attaint my memory by believing that I 
could have engaged in any cause but that of my country's 
liberty and independence; or that I could have become the 
pliant minion of power in the oppression or the miseries of my 
countrymen. 

9. I would not have submitted to a foreign oppressor, for 
the same reason that I would resist the domestic tyrant ; in the 
dignity of freedom, I would have fought upon the threshold of 
my country, and her enemy should enter only by passing over 
my lifeless corpse. Am I, who lived but for my country, and 
who have subjected myself to the vengeance of the jealous and 
watchful oppressor, and now the bondage of the grave, only 
to give my countrymen their rights — am I to be loaded with 
calumny, and not to be suffered to resent or repel it? No; God 
forbid ! 

10. If the spirits of the illustrious dead participate in the 
concerns and cares of those who are dear to them in this 
transitory life, O ever dear and venerated shade of my de- 
parted father ! look down with scrutiny on the conduct of your 
suffering son, and see if I have even for a moment deviated 
from those principles of morality and patriotism which it was 
your care to instill into my youthful mind, and for an adherence 
to which I am now to offer up my life ! 

11. My lords, you are impatient for the sacrifice. The 
blood which you seek is not congealed by the artificial terrors 
which surround your victim; it circulates warmly and unruf- 
fled through the channels which God created for noble purposes, 
but which you are bent to destroy for purposes so grievous that 
they cry to Heaven ! Be yet patient ! I have but a few words 



AND SPEAKER 233 

more to say. I am going to my silent grave; my lamp of life 
is nearly extinguished ; my race is run ; the grave opens to re- 
ceive me, and I sink into its bosom. 

12. 1 have but one request to ask, at my departure from 
this world, — it is the charity of its silence. Let no man write 
my epitaph ; for, as no one who knows my motives dares now 
vindicate them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse them. 
Let them and me repose in obscurity and peace, and my tomb 
remain uninscribed until other times, and other men, can do 
justice to my character. When my country shall take her 
place among the nations of the earth, — then and not till then, 
— let my epitaph be written ! 



The Last Charge of Xey. 

j. t. headley. 

i. The whole continental struggle exhibited no sublimer 
spectacle than this last effort of Napoleon to save his sinking 
empire. Europe had been put upon the plains of Waterloo to 
be battled for. The greatest military energy and skill the 
world possessed had been tasked to the utmost during the day. 
Thrones were tottering on the ensanguined field, and the shad- 
ows of fugitive kings flitted through the smoke of battle. 

2. Bonaparte's star trembled in the zenith, — now blazing 
out in its ancient splendor, now suddenly paling before his 
anxious eye. At length, when the Prussians appeared on the 
field, he resolved to stake Europe on one bold throw. He com- 
mitted himself and France to Ney, and saw his empire rest on 
a single chance. Ney felt the pressure of the immense re- 
sponsibility on his brave heart, and resolved not to prove un- 
worthy of the great trust. Nothing could be more imposing 
than the movement of that grand column to the assault. That 
Guard had never yet recoiled before a human foe; and the 
allied forces beheld with aw r e its firm and terrible advance to 
the final charge. 

3. For a moment the batteries stopped playing, and the 
firing ceased along the British lines, as, without the beating of 
a drum, or the blast of a bugle, to cheer their steady courage, 



234 brown's standard elocution 

they moved in dead silence over the plain. The next moment 
the artillery opened, and the head of that gallant column 
seemed to sink into the earth. Rank after rank went down; 
yet they neither stopped nor faltered. Dissolving squadrons, 
and whole battalions disappearing one after another in the de- 
structive fire, affected not their steady courage. The ranks 
closed up as before, and each, treading over his fallen comrade, 
pressed firmly on. 

4. The horse which Ney rode fell under him, and he had 
scarcely mounted another before it also sank to the earth. 
Again and again did that unflinching man feel his steed sink 
down, till five had been shot under him. Then, with his uni- 
form riddled with bullets, and his face singed and blackened 
with powder, he marched on foot, with drawn sabre, at the 
head of his men. In vain did the artillery hurl its storm of 
fire and lead into that living mass. Up to the very muzzles 
they pressed, and, driving the artillerymen from their own 
pieces, pushed on through the English lines. 

5. But at the moment a file of soldiers who had lain flat 
on the ground, behind a low ridge of earth, suddenly rose, and 
poured a volley in their very faces. Another and another 
followed, till one broad sheet of flame rolled on their bosoms, 
and in such a fierce and unexpected flow that human courage 
could not withstand it. They reeled, shook, staggered back, 
then turned and fled. 

6. Ney was borne back in the refluent tide, and hurried 
over the field. But for the crowd of fugitives that forced him 
on, he would have stood alone, and fallen in his footsteps. As 
it was, disdaining to fly, though the whole army was flying, he 
formed his men into two immense squares, and endeavored to 
stem the terrific current, and would have done so had it not 
been for the thirty thousand fresh Prussians that pressed on 
his exhausted ranks. 

7. For a long time these squares stood and let the artillery 
plough through them. But the fate of Napoleon was writ; 
and though Ney doubtless did what no other man in the army 
could have done, the decree could not be reversed. The star 
that had blazed so brightly over the world went down in blood, 
and the "bravest of the brave had fought" his last battle. It 
was worthy of his great name; and the charge of the Old 



AND SPEAKER 235 

Guard at Waterloo, with him at their head, will be pointed to 
by remotest generations with a shudder. 



The Deacon's Story. 

n. s. emersox. 



i. The solemn old bells in the steeple 

Are ringin'. I guess you know why ! 
No? Well, then, Til tell you, though mostly 

It's whispered about on the sly. 
Some six weeks ago, a church meetin' 

Was called — for — nobody knew what ; 
But we went, and the parson was present, 

And I don't know who, or who not. 

2. Some twenty odd members, I calc'late, 

Which mostly was women, of course; 
Though I don't mean to say aught ag'in' em, 

I've seen many gatherin's worse. 
There, in the front row, sat the deacons, 

The eldest was old Deacon Pryor; 
A man countin' for-score-and-seven, 

And gin'rally full of his ire. 

3. Beside him, his wife, countin' four-score, 

A kind-hearted, motherly soul ; 
And next to her, young Deacon Hartley, 

A good Christian man on the w^hole. 
Miss Parsons, a spinster of fifty, 

And long ago laid on the shelf 
Had wedged herself next ; and, beside her, 

Was Deacon Munroe — that's myself. 

4. The meetin' was soon called to order, 

The parson looked glum as a text; 
We gazed at each other in silence, 

And silently wonderful "What next?" 



236 brown's standard elocution 

Then slowly uprose Deacon Hartley ; 

His voice seemed to tremble with fear, 
As he said: "Boy and man you have known me. 

My good friends, for nigh forty year. 

5. "And you scarce may expect a confession 

Of error from me, but — you know, 
My dearly loved wife died last Christmas, 

It's now nearly ten months ago. 
The winter went by long and lonely, 

The spring hurried forward apace ; 
The farm-work came on, and I needed 

A woman about the old place. 

6. "The children were wilder than rabbits, 

And still growing worse every day; 
No help to be found in the village, 

Although I was willing to pay. 
In fact, I was nigh 'bout discouraged 

For everything looked so forlorn; 
When good little Patience McAlpin 

Skipped into our kitchen one morn. 

7. "She had only run in of an errand; 

But she laughed at our miserable plight, 
And set to work, just like a woman, 

A putting the whole place to right. 
And though her own folks was so busy, 

And illy her helpin' could spare, 
She flit in and out like a sparrow, 

And most every day she was there. 

8. "So the summer went by sort of cheerful, 

And one night my baby, my Joe, 
Seemed feverish and fretful, and woke me, 

By crying, at midnight, you know. 
I was tired with my day's work, and sleepy, 

And couldn't no way, keep him still, 
So, at last, I grew angry, and spanked him, 

And then he screamed out with a will. 



AND SPEAKER 237 

9. "Just then I heard a soft rapping 

Away at the half open door; 
And then little Patience McAlpin 

Walked shyly across the white floor, 
Says she: T thought Joseph was cryin', 

I guess I'd best take him away: 
I knew you'd be getting up early, 

To go to the marshes for hay ; 
So I stayed here to-night to get breakfast ; 

I guess he'll be quiet with me. 

10. " 'Come, Josey, kiss papa, and tell him 

What a nice little man you will be !' 
She was stooping low 7 over the pillow, 

And saw the big tears on his cheek: 
Her face was so close to my whiskers, 

I darsn't move, scarcely, or speak; 
Her hands were both holdin' the baby, 

Her eye by his shoulder was hid; 
But her mouth was so near and so rosy, 

I — kissed her. That's just what I did." 

11. Then down sat the tremblin' sinner, 

The sisters they murmured of "shame," 
And "she shouldn't oughter a let him, 

No doubt she was mostly to blame." 
When straightway uprose Deacon Pryor, 

"Now bretherin and sisters," he said; 
(We knowed then that suthin' was coming 

And all sot as still as the dead), 
"You've heard Brother Hartley's confession, 

And I speak for myself when I say 
That if my wife was dead, and my children 

Were all growin' worse every day; 
And if my house needed attention, 

And Patience McAlpin had come, 
And tidied the cluttered up kitchen, 

And made the place seem more like home ; 
And if I was worn out and sleepy, 

And my baby wouldn't lie still, 



238 brown's standard elocution 

But fretted and woke me at midnight, 
As babies, we know, sometimes will ; 

And if Patience came in to hush him, 
And 'twas all as our good brother sez — 

I think, friends — I think I should kiss her, 
And 'bide by the consequences." 

12. Then down sat the elderly deacon, 

The younger one lifted his face, 
And a smile rippled over the meetin' 

Like light in a shadowy place. 
Perhaps, then, the matronly sisters 

Remembered their far-away youth, 
Or the daughters at home by their firesides, 

Shrined each in her shy, modest truth ; 
For their judgments grew gentle and kindly, 

And — well — as I started to say 
The solemn old bells in the steeple 

Are ringing a bridal to-day. 



The Ghost That Jim Saw. 

"Why, as to that," said the engineer, 
"Ghosts ain't things we are apt to fear, 
Spirits don't fool with levers much, 
And throttle valves don't take to such ; 
And as for Jim — 
What happened to him 
Was one half fact and t'other half whim! 

"Running one night on the line, he saw 
A house — as plain as the moral law — 
Just by the moonlit bank, and thence 
Came a drunken man with no more sense 
Than to drop on the rail, 
Flat as a flail, 
As Jim drove by with the midnight mail. 



AND SPEAKER 239 

''Down went the patents. Steam reversed. 
Too late! for there came a 'thud' Jim curs-ed, 
As his fireman, there in the cab with him 
Kinder stared in the face of Jim, 
And says, 'What now?' 
Says Jim, 'What now ! 
I've just run over a man — that's how !' 

"The fireman stared at Jim. They ran 
Back, but they never saw T house nor man, — 
Xary a shadow within a mile ; 
Jim turned pale, but he tried to smile — 

Then on he tore 

Ten miles or more 
In quicker time than he'd made afore. 

"Would you believe it ? — the very next night 
Up rose that house in the moonlight white ; 
Out comes the chap and drops as before. 
Down goes the brakes and the rest encore — 
And so, in fact, 
Each night that act 
Occurred, till folks swore Jim was cracked. 

"Humph ! Let me see ; it's a year now, most, 
That I met Jim, East, and says, 'How's your ghosts?* 
'Gone,' says Jim; 'and more, it's plain 
That ghost don't trouble me again; 
I thought I shook 
That ghost when I took 
A place on an Eastern line — but look : 

" 'What should I meet the first trip out, 
But that very house that we talked about, 
And that self-same man i 'Well/ says I, T guess 
It's time to stop this yer foolishness.' 

So I crammed on steam, 

When there came a scream 
From my fireman — and it broke my dream — 



240 brown's standard elocution 

"'You've killed somebody!' Says I, 'not much; 
I've been thar often and thar ain't no such ; 
And now I'll prove it' Back we ran, 
And — darn my skin ! — but thar was a man 
On the rail, dead, 
Smashed in the head — 
'Now I call that meanness !' That's all Jim said." 

— Bret Harte 



Impeachment of Warren Hastings, 
edmund burke. 

Lord Macaulay says of this famous speech : "The energy 
and pathos of the great orator extorted expressions of un- 
wonted admiration from all; and, for a moment, seemed to 
pierce even the resolute heart of the defendant. The ladies 
in the galleries, unaccustomed to such displays of eloquence, 
excited by the solemnity of the occasion, and perhaps not 
unwilling to display their taste and sensibility, were in a state 
of uncontrollable emotion. Handkerchiefs were pulled out; 
smelling-bottles were handed round ; hysterical sobs and 
screams were heard, and some were even carried out in fits. 
At length the orator concluded. Raising his voice, till the old 
arches of Irish oak resounded, he said : 

i. My Lords, you have now heard the principles on which 
Mr. Hastings governs the part of Asia subjected to the British 
Empire. Here he has declared his opinion, that he is a despotic 
prince; that he is to use arbitrary power; and, of course, all 
his acts are covered with that shield. "I know," says he, 
"the Constitution of Asia only from its practice." Will your 
Lordships submit to hear the corrupt practices of mankind 
made the principles of Government? 

2. He have arbitrary power! My Lords, the East India 
Company have not arbitrary power to give him ; the King has 
no arbitrary power to give him ; your Lordships have not ; nor 
the Commons ; nor the whole Legislature. We have no ar- 
bitrary power to give, because arbitrary power is a thing which 
neither any man can hold nor any man can give. No man can 



AND SPEAKER 241 

lawfully govern himself according to his own will, much less 
can one person be governed by the will of another. We are 
all born in subjection, all born equally, high and low, governors 
and governed, in subjection to one great, immutable, pre-ex- 
istent law, prior to all our devices, and prior to all our con- 
trivance-, paramount to all our ideas, and all our sensations, 
antecedent to our very existence, by which we are knit and 
connected in the eternal frame of the universe, out of which 
we cannot stir. 

3. This great law does not arise from our conventions or 
compacts ; on the contrary, it gives to our conventions and 
compacts all the force and sanction they can have; — it does 
not arise from our vain institutions. Every good gift is of 
God; all pow T er is of God; — and He, who has given the power, 
and from whom alone it originates, will never suffer the ex- 
ercise of it to be practiced upon any less solid foundation than 
the power itself. If then all dominion of man over man is the 
effect of the divine disposition, it is bound by the eternal laws 
of Him, that gave it, with w 7 hich no human authority can 
dispense ; neither he that exercises it, nor even those who are 
subject to it: and if they w T ere mad enough to make an ex- 
press compact that should release their magistrate from his 
duty, and should declare their lives, liberties, and properties 
dependent upon, not rules and laws, but his mere capricious 
will, that covenant would be void. 

4. This arbitrary power is not to be had by conquest. Nor 
can any sovereign have it by succession ; for no man can suc- 
ceed to fraud, rapine and violence. Those who give and 
those who receive arbitrary power are alike criminal ; and there 
is no man but is bound to resist it to the best of his power, 
wherever it shall show its face to the world. 

5. My Lords, I do not mean to go further than just to re- 
mind your Lordships of this, — that Mr. Hastings' government 
was one whole system of oppression, of robbery of individuals, 
of spoliation of the public, and of supersession of the whole 
system, of the English Government, in order to vest in the 
worst of the natives all the power that could possibly exist in 
any government ; in order to defeat the ends which all govern- 
ments ought, in common, to have in view 7 . In the name of the 
Commons of England, I charge all this villainy upon Warren 
Hastings, in this last moment of my application to you. 



242 BROWN *S STANDARD ELOCUTION 

6. My Lords, what is it that we want here to a great act 
of national justice? Do we want a cause, my Lords? You 
have the cause of oppressed princes, of undone women of the 
first rank, of desolated provinces, and of wasted kingdoms. 

7. Do you want a criminal, my Lords? When was there 
so much iniquity ever laid to the charge of any one? No, my 
Lords, you must not look. to punish any other such delinquent 
from India. Warren Hastings has not left substance enough 
in India to nourish such another delinquent. 

8. My Lords, is it a prosecutor you want? You have be- 
fore you the Commons of Great Britain as prosecutors; and 
I believe, my Lords, that the sun, in his beneficient progress 
round the world, does not behold a more glorious sight than 
that of men, separated from a remote people by the material 
bounds and barriers of nature, united by the bond of a social 
and moral community ; — all the Commons of England resent- 
ing, as their own, the indignities and cruelties that are offered 
to all the people of India. 

9. Do we want a tribunal? My Lords, no example of 
antiquity, nothing in the modern world, nothing in the range 
of human imagination, can supply us with a tribunal like this. 
We commit safely the interests of India and humanity into 
your hands. Therefore, it is with confidence that, ordered by 
the Commons. 

10. "I impeach Warren Hastings, Esquire, of high crimes 
and misdemeanors. 

"I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great 
Britain in Parliament assembled, whose parliamentary trust 
he has abused. 

"I impeach him in the name of the Commons of Great 
Britain, w r hose national character he has dishonored. 

"I impeach him in the name of the people of India whose 
laws, rights and liberties he has subverted. 

"I impeach him in the name of the people of India, whose 
property he has destroyed, whose country he has laid waste 
and desolate. 

"I impeach him in the name of human nature itself, which 
he has cruelly outraged, injured, and oppressed, in both sexes. 
And I impeach him in the name and by the inrtne of those 
eternal laws of justice, which ought equally to pervade every 
age, condition, rank, and situation, in the world." 



and speaker 243 

Deacon Stoki 

THOMAS QUILP. 

1. There once lived one Aso Stokes, 

( )ne of those men whom everything provokes, 

A surly-tempered, evil-minded, bearish, 

Ill-natured kind of being; 

He was the deacon of the parish, 

And had the overseeing 

Of some small matters, such as the ringing 

Of the church-bell, and took the lead in singing. 

2. Well. Deacon Stokes had gone to bed one night, 
About eleven or before, 

Twas in December, if my memory's right, in '24. 

Twas cold enough to make a Russian shiver ; 

I think I never knew one 

Colder than this — in faith, it was a blue one ! 

As by the almanac foretold, 'twas 

A real Lapland night. O dear ! how cold 'twas ! 

3. There was a chap about there named Ezekiel, 
A clever good-for-nothing fellow, 

Who very often used to get quite mellow ; 

Of whbm the Deacon always used to speak ill; 

For he was fond of cracking jokes 

On Deacon Stokes, to show on 

What terms he stood among the women folks, and so on. 

4. It came to pass that on the night I speak of, 
Ezekiel left the tavern bar-room, where 

He spent the evening, for the sake of 

Drowning his care, by partaking 

Of the merry-making and enjoyment 

Of some good fellows there, whose sole employment 

Was, all kinds of weather, on every night, 

By early candlelight, to get together 

Reading the papers, smoking pipes and chewing, 

Telling long yarns, and pouring down the ruin. 



244 brown's standard elocution 

5. Pretty well corned, and up to anything, 
Drunk as a lord, and happy as a king, 
Blue as a razor, from his midnight revel, 
Xor fearing muskets, women, or the devil ; 

With a light heart — much lighter than a feather — 

With a light soul that spurned the freezing weather, 

And with a head ten times as light as either ; 

And a purse, perhaps, as light as all together, 

On went Ezekiel, with a great expansion 

Of thought, until he brought 

Up at a post before the Deacon's mansion. 

6. With one arm around the post, awhile he stood 
In thoughtful mood with one eye turned 
Upward the window where, with feeble glare, 
A candle burned; 

Then with a serious face, and a grave mysterious 
Shake of the head, Ezekiel said — 
(His right eye once more thrown upon the beacon 
That from the window shone), "I'll start the Deacon !" 

7. Rap, rap, rap, rap, went Deacon Stoke's knocker. 
But no one stirred ; rap, rap, it went again ; 

"By George, it must be after ten, or 
They must take an early hour for turning in," 
Rap, rap, rap — "My conscience, how they keep 
A fellow waiting — patience, how they sleep !" 

8. The Deacon then began to be alarmed, 
And in amazement threw up the casement, 
And with cap on head, of fiery red, 
Demanded what the cause was of the riot, 
That thus disturbed his quiet. 

9. "Quite cool this evening. Deacon Stokes," replied 

The voice below. "Well, sir, what is the matter?" 
"Quite chilly, Deacon ; how your teeth do chatter !" 
"You vagabond, a pretty time you have chosen 

To show your wit ; for I am almost frozen ; 

Be off, or I will put the lash on !" 



AND SPEAKER 245 

"Why bless you, Deacon, don't be in a passion !" 
Tvvas all in vain to speak again, 
For with the Deacon's threat about the lash, 
Down went the sash. 

10. Rap, rap, rap, rap, the knocker went again, 
And neither of them was a very light rap; 
Thump, thump, against the door went Ezekiel's cane, 
And that once more brought Deacon Stoke's night-cap. 

ii. "Very cold weather, Deacon Stokes, to-night !" 

"Begone, you vile, insolent dog, or I'll 
Give you a warming that shall serve you right ; 
You villain, it is time to end the hoax!" 

"Why bless your soul and body. Deacon Stokes, 
Don't be so cross when I've come here, in this severe 
Night, which is cold enough to kill a horse, 
For your advice upon a very difficult and nice 
Question. Now, bless you, do make haste and dress you," 

12. "Well, well, out with it, if it must be so; 
Be quick about it; I'm very cold." 
"Well, Deacon, I don't doubt it, 
In a few words the matter can be told. 
Deacon, the case is this : I want to know 
If this cold weather lasts all summer here — 
What time will green peas come along next year?" 



A Man's a Man for a' That. 

[CHAS. MACKAY'S VERSION.] 

"A man's a man," says Robert Burns, 

"For a' that and a' that ;" 
But though the song be clear and strong 

It lacks a note for a' that. 
The lout who'd shirk his daily work, 

Yet claim his wage and a that. 
Or beg, when he might earn his bread, 

Is not a man for a' that. 



246 brown's standard elocution 

2. If all who dine on homely fare 

Were true and brave, and a' that, 
And none whose garb is "hodden gray" 

Was fool or knave, and a' that, 
The vice and crime that shame our time 

Would fade and fail and a' that, 
And plowmen be as good "as kings, 

And churls as earls for a' that. 



o- 



You see yon brawny, blustering sot, 

Who swaggers, swears, and a' that, 
And thinks, because his strong right arm 

Might fell an ox and a' that, 
That he's as noble, man for man, 

As duke or lord, and a' that; 
He's but a brute, beyond dispute, 

And not a man for a' that. 

A man may own a large estate, 

Have palace, park, and a' that 
And not for birth, but honest worth, 

Be thrice a man for a' that ; 
And Donald herding on the muir, 

Who beats his wife and a' that, 
Be nothing but a rascal boor, 

Nor half a man for a' that. 

It comes to this, dear Robert Burns — 

The truth is old, and a' that — 
"The rank is but the guinea's stamp, 
The man's the gold for a' that." 
And though you'd put the minted mark 

On copper, brass, and a' that, 
The lie is gross, the cheat is plain, 
And will not pass for a' that. 

For a' that, and a' that, 

'Tis soul and heart and a' that, 
That makes the king a gentleman, 
And not his crown and a' that, 



AND SPEAKER 247 

And man with man, if rich or poor, 

The best is he, for a' that, 
Who stands erect in self-respect, 

And acts the man for a' that. 



A Girl of the Period. 

i. Oh, she was so utterly utter! 

She couldn't eat plain bread and butter, 

But a nibble she'd take 

At a w r afer of cake, 
Or the wing of a quail for her supper; 
Roast beef and plum pudding she'd sneer at, 
A boiled leg of mutton she'd jeer at, 

But the limb of a frog 

Might her appetite jog. 
Or some delicate bit that came near that. 

2. The consequence was, she grew paler 
And more wishy-washy, and frailer, 

Ate less for her dinner, 

Grew thinner and thinner, 

Till I really think, 

If you marked her with ink, 

Put an envelope on her. 

And stamped it upon her, 
You could go to the office and mail her ! 

Her voice was so low and so thrilling, 

Its cadence was perfectly killing ; 
And she talked with a lisp and a stutter, 
For she was so utterly utter ! 

3, Oh, she was so very aesthetic! 

Her face was quite long and pathetic ; 

The ends of her hair 

Floated loose on the air, 
And her eyes had a sadness prophetic ; 



248 brown's standard elocution 

The bangs she wore down on her forehead 
Were straight and deliriously horrid; 
And a sad-colored gown 
Going straight up and down 
She wore when the weather was torrid. 

4. It was terribly hard to enthuse her, 
But a bit of old china would fuse her; 
And she'd glow like a coal or a candle, 
At the mention of Bach or of Handel. 
At pinks, and sweet-williams and roses, 
She'd make the most retrousse noses. 

But would swoon with delight 

At a sunflower bright, 
And use it in making her poses. 
She moved with the sleepiest motion, 
As if not quite used to the notion; 

And her manner was chill 

As a water fowl's bill 
When he's fresh from a clip in the ocean ! 
It was quite the reverse of magnetic, 
But oh, it was very aesthetic ! 

5. And if, with your old-fashioned notions, 
You could wish that more cheerful emotion 

More sunshine and grace, 

Should appear in her face, 
More gladness should speak in her motions- 
If you heard with a homesick dejection 
The changes in voice and inflection, 

And sighed for smooth tresses 

And the plain, simple dresses 
That used to command your affection. — 
Oh, hide your rash thoughts in your bosom ! 
Or if you must speak out and use 'em, 
Then under your breath you must mutter ; 
For she is too utterly utter ! 



and speaker 249 

Der Shtubborn Mool. 

issac hinton brown. 

i. Hans Bleimer shtood auf clot burning shkip 
Mit two hands on his mool ; 
Der mool he shumped — Hans cracked his vip, 
Und called dot beasht a fool. 

2. Of course, dot mool he vould not go, 
He vas scared so by dot fire. 
So Hans he hits dot mool a blow 
Dot raised his heels oop higher. 

3. Und shtill dot shtubborn mool shtood by 

Mit two feets out before; 
His eye vas vild, his tail vas high ; 
Vhile round der flames did roar. 

4. Den Hans, he t'inks dot game's played out, — 

He'd try some oder plan 
To drive dot swveet mool off dot shkip, 
Und bring him safe by land. 

5. T'inks Hans, if once I twist his tail 

So, tight like sausage band, 
Dod mool will quvick shump in der sea, 
Und safely shwvim by land. 

6. De man in der moon shmiled to der east, 

De stars midt fun vinked oudt, 
De fishes dtheir teeth for a feast, 
Und Hans now vent his plans about. 

7. Den Hans he takes kwvick off his coats, — 

His face vas schared und pale ; 

Und midt six hundred vicked oaths 

He reached dot strong mool's tail. 

8. Den Mr. Mool vas so oxprized 

Midt Bleimer in his rear. 
Dot anger shows all oudt his eyes, 
Und fight vas in his ear. 



250 brown's standard elocution 

9. Six Shumpes ! six Kicks ! Oh, awful doom ! 
Hans Bleimer ! vhere vas he ? 
Go shpeak by der man vot turns de moon, 
De fishes by de sea ! 

10. Veil, anyhow, poor Hans had shveet revenge; 
So tight he held above vot hit him, 
Dot vhen Hans left dis vicked world, 
De besht bardt of dot tail vent midt him. 



Our Ain Countrie. 
ella guernsey. 



On an afternoon in December little Walter Graham lay pil- 
lowed in mamma's lap, his life ebbing fast away. The malig- 
nant croup, that dread disease that cuts short so many little ones 
and is the terror of all loving mothers, held Wallie fast and 
tightened its cruel fingers upon Wallie's throat until mamma 
almost prayed death to claim her darling, that he might be 
freed from pain. 

Only a short time since the little feet, encased in his first 
boots, had made noisy but sweet music to mamma's ear, the 
firm, red cheeks glowed with health, but in a few hours the 
summons had come for Wallie, the pride and hope of the 
Graham household. 

After a terrible effort to breathe easier he gasped, "Sing, 
please, mamma." 

Now mamma knew just what her boy wanted to hear, as 
no old Christian Scot loved the hymn "My Ain Countrie" 
more than her boy, but how could the sore-stricken mother 
sing when she wanted to weep? She began in a queer, shaky 
voice : 

"I'm far frae my hame an' I'm weary aftenwhiles, 

For the lang'd for hame bringing, an' my father's welcome 

smiles, 
I'll n'er be fu' content—" 



AND SPEAKER 251 

Here a sob smothered the melody, for she knew Wallie 
was not far "frae his aim countrie." Papa took up the words: 

"I've his gude word of promise that some gladsome day 

the King 
To His ain royal palace his banished hame will bring — M 

But he, too, broke down, and Aunt Esther softly sang : 

"His bluid hath made me white an' His hand shall dry 

my een 
When He brings me hame at last to my ain countries 

Wallie's breathing was now easier, his head dropped lower, 
his pulse fluttered feebly; he tried to smile even in his pain. 

Then the aged minister, who had known mamma in her 
girl days, sang in his high, tremulous voice : 

"Like a bairn to its mither, a wee birdie to its nest, 
I wad fain noo be gangin' unto my Savior's breast. 
For He gathers in His bosom even witless lambs like me. 
An' He carries them Himself to His ain countrie." 

Wallie's head sank lower; he lay still, so very still, and 
then we knew he had gone to his ain countrie. 



The Harvest of Rum. 
paul dextox. 

I. Streaming down the ages, blighting the rosebuds. 
shriveling the grasses, scorching the heart, and blistering the 
soul, has come a lurid tongue of flame which, heated by. the 
madness of hell, has hissed out the terrors of death and 
dropped over the earth a sea of unutterable woe. In the dark- 
ness of midnight it has gathered intensity of brightness, and 
glared about the hearthstones, wet with the weeping of wives, 
mothers and children, and bronzed the beauty of earth with 
the horrid cast of hell. Twisting around the altar of the 



252 brown's standard elocution 

church, it has wreathed the sweetest flowers that ever at- 
tempted to bloom for the adornment of heaven, and has fed 
death from the very waters of life ; at the very door of heaven 
itself it has glowed with appalling madness and been almost 
an impassable wall of flame between misery and bliss. 

2. Dripping burning drops of agony into the tenderest 
depths of writhing souls, they have wailed and wept and hissed 
unutterable despair, and pleaded with God to blot them from 
existence forever. This blighting, glowing, burning, damning 
curse of the world is the demon Intemperance. Language has 
never been made that can depict it in all its hideousness. Look 
on that stack of skeletons that rears its ghastly form — an insult 
to God — high in the clouds, and shapes the whistling winds 
into an utterance of withering denunciation of the fiery 
monster that gnawed and scalded and burned and tore the 
mangled, bleeding flesh from those bones and tossed them 
into that revolting pile ! 

3. Come, ye writhing, pleading, suffering souls that were 
robbed of heaven by this sparkling tempter, and cast the black 
shadow of your wretchedness upon the faces of the living! 
Oh, graves, give up your bloated, festering millions, and 
stretch them, in all their rum-scorched ghastliness, over the 
plains and mountain-tops ! Come forth, ye torn, haggard and 
bleeding souls, from the time of Noah until to-night! Hold 
up your bony, withered skeleton hands, ye countless millions 
of starved and starving women and children. 

4. Come, all the floods of agonizing tears that scorched 
as the lurid fires of hell where'er they touched, and boil, and 
blubber, and foam, and hiss in one vast steaming, seething 
ocean! Come, death, and hell, and agony, with your harvest, 
garnered from the still and the brewery, and let us mass them 
in one black, horrifying portraiture of the damned. And let 
it tell to the shuddering, trembling souls what language never 
can. 



AND SPEAKER 253 

The Pawnbroker's Shop, 
richard e. white. 

1. In my walks through the city I frequently stop 
To examine the wares in the pawnbroker's shop, 
For each article here has a story to tell 

Unto all who interpret its voicelessness well. 

These were emblems of friendship and truth long ago, 

But their presence here sorrow and misery show, 

For they tell of estrangements and fond ones grown cold — 

Once the pledges of love, now the pledges of gold. 

2. Let us enter awhile; lady fair, do not fear; 

The great ones of earth in their time have been here; 
Here have come youth and maid, and the old and the gray ; 
Here the peer and the pauper have elbow T ed their way ; 
The exchequers of kings from such shops have been drawn. 
And the jewels of queens have been given in pawn. 
Then enter, and if for a while you will stop, 
I will tell of the wares of the pawnbroker's shop. 

3. • Here's a little gold cross ; 'twas a tremulous hand 

Placed it round her boy's neck ere he left the old land. 
Though that good mother prayed 'twould a talisman be 
To the youth in his new home beyond the great sea. 
Though he clung to it fondly for many a year, 
For a dollar or two he at last sold it here ; 
Yet the treasures of earth were the veriest dross 
When compared to the value he placed on this cross. 

4. Here's a locket of hair, once a bright sunny curl, 
It was shorn from her locks by a beautiful girl, 
And she gave it to him whom as life she held dear. 
While he whispered a tale of fond love in her ear ; 
Her life's blood that girl would have given to prove 
The strength, and devotion, and depth of her love. 
Was love true to the last, till the warm heart grew cold. 
Or like this, its dear gift, was it bartered for gold? 



254 brown's standard elocution 

5. Here's a gold wedding-ring; many years must have gone 
Since two knelt in the church, and with this were made one. 
O, who would not envy the bride in that hour, 

With everything earth could bestow for a dower ! 
As the groom on her fair finger placed this gold ring, 
Ah, little he thought time such changes could bring 
As that here she should come, youth and beauty all fled, 
And her wedding-ring pawn to get money for bread. 

6. But enough I have sung, and though sad be my lay, 
Yet a much sadder theme you may find any day, 
When poverty made them these love-tokens sell ; 
What matter if honor were not sold as well ! 

If you go through the town you will daily behold 
Both manhood and maidenhood bartered for gold, 
And these, till time's ending, forever will stop 
Unredeemed, if once brought to the pawnbroker's shop. 



Kit Carson's Wife. 



1. On winter eve, when cabins are bright 
With the crimson flash of the log-fire's light, 
And the soft snow sleeps on the prairie's breast, 
They gather — the frontier scouts of the West — 
And, speaking sometimes with bated breath 

Of wars of the border, and deeds of death, 
They crown their stories of reckless strife 
With the famous ride of Kit Carson's wife. 

2. For into a Sioux village one day, 
From Dixon, a hundred miles away, 

A horseman reached the chieftain's tent, 
Dismounted, staggered and gasped: "Fin sent 
With sorrowful news from the pale-face town. 
Kit Carson, the scout, is stricken down, 
And before he bids farewell to life 
He would see the face of his Indian wife." 



AND SPEAKER 255 

3. She heard that story — the chieftain's child — 

I [er bronze face whitened, her glance grew wild; 

She grasped her deer-skin cloak and felt 

1 he pistols were safe in her wampum belt; 

She uttered only a smothered moan, 

And the scout and the chieftain stood alone. 

4. Her pony snorted ; she grasped his mane, 
And the fleetest mustang that pressed the plain, 
Turning away from the sunset light, 

Sped like an arrow into the night, 

And the flanks threw backward a glistening foam, 

As she headed her horse to her husband's home. 

5. Oh, sing not to me of Lochinvar, 
Or of reckless rides in glorious war 
But, oh ! if ever, perchance, you hear 
Of Sheridan, Graves or Paul Revere — 
Of all that galloped to deathless life, 
Just speak the name of Kit Carson's wife. 

6. The stars leaped out in the boundless sky. 
And the girl looked up as the moon flashed by — 
The terrified moon, in a terrible race, 
Keeping time to her pony's pace ! 

She heard the hoot of the lonely owl. 

And afar, from a forest, a dismal howl 

Louder and louder, piercing the air, 

Till her throbbing heart moaned a pitiful prayer, 

For, grasping her pistol and looking back, 

The Indian girl saw wolves on her track. 

7. The foremost fell with a shot in his heart, 
And his comrades tearing him part from part, 
While the horse flashed faster over the plain, 
With the girl's dark face in his tangled mane, 
Over the trackless prairies, aw T ay 
Galloping into the new-born day. 

8. The first faint rays of the day-break dim. 
Showed her upon the horizon's rim 



256 brown's standard elocution 

An armed band of her people's foes, 
Riding as fast as the north wind blows, 
With the flash of the sun on the leader's plume, 
A signal that sealed the maiden's doom. 

9. But the daring blood of a noble race, 
Like flames in a gloomy forest place, 
Flushed redly into her Indian face, 
And she caught the tomahawk at her side, 
A toy in the blood of berries dyed — 
Swung it aloft, and, with panting breath 
Galloped full in the front of death. 

10. Over each mustang every foe 
Swerved like lightning, bending low ; 
Thro' the band, that parted to right and left, 
A clear wide path the maiden cleft, 

And an instant more she had passed them by, 
And was riding alone into the eastern sky. 

11. The terrified braves looked back on her there, 
While the sunlight's glory over her hair 
Shone like a halo, wonderful, grand! 

Had she fled from the far-off spirit-land? 
Had she brought them blessings, or a blight? 
They shuddered and broke into sudden flight. 

12. Into the streets of a cabin town — 
Into the village riding down, 

With fevered brain, and with glazing eyes, 
And breath that fluttered with gasping sighs, 
Still she urged on the faltering steed, 
That had served her well in her hour of need. 
And the pony leaped as it felt the rein, 
Galloped, staggered, and reeled again, 
And just as it reached Kit Carson's door, 
With work well done, and with anguish o'er, 
Fell to the earth and stirred no more ! 



AND SPEAK 2j7 

13. An hour later the great scout died. 
His faithful Indian wife at his side. 
She only lingered a little while, 
And followed him then with a happy smile. 

Together they sleep in the self-same grave, 
Where wildly the winds of winter rave, 
And in summer the prairie flowers wave ! 



Love Triumphant. 



Upon the ocean's briny shore I stood, 
And wrote with fragile reed 
Upon the sand : 

"Agnes, I love theei" 
The waves rolled in and washed 
Away the fair impression. 
Cruel wave! frail reed: "treacherous sand/' 
I'll trust thee no more, 
But with giant hand I'll pluck 
From Norway's frozen shore 
Her tallest pine, and dip its top 
In the crater of Vesuvius, 
And upon the high and burnished heavens 
IT1 write— 

"Agnes. I love thee!" 
And I would like to see any 
Confounded wave wash that out. — "Encore!* 



iw. 



SOCKERY KaDACUT's KaT. 

Oh ! I had de vorsht dime lashd veek dot you effer 
Katrina (dot vas mine frau) vent avay to make a leecl- 
dle bic-nic, und as I vas been harm' de shake and agers, und 
didn't feel pooty goot, I shtayed to home. 

2. Yell, as I vas valkin' arount de parn yart. I saw dot 
same olt plue hen coom out from unter der parn, savin' : "Kut, 
kut, ka-dah-kut, kut, kut, ka-dah-kut," und I tought to myself. 



258 brown's standard elocution 

meppy dere vas a nest of aigs unter dere; so I pull oud half 
a tozzen more shdones, und mait a hole so pig as I can crawl 
unter, und den as I vas crawlin' arount unter a-lookin' for 
some nest mit aigs, all at vonce I shpied de pootiest leeddle 
kat vat I effer seen ; he vas all plack, mit vite shtripes, und vas 
shnuggled ub in a leeddle pall f asht ashleeb. 

3. Veil, ve vas been wantin' a kat, because dere vas so 
many mouses in de house, und I tought if I kin git dot von 
I'll make Katrina a leeddle surbrise barty; so I krawl along 
so shdill as nefer vas, till I got ub close to him, den I mait a 
grab und I ketched him by de neck so dot he don't kin pite 
me ; but ach, mine gootness, vat shmell, it vas vorse as a hun- 
dredt parrels of limburgher ! / tought I had stepped on some- 
ding dot vas deat; I vas most sh'oke mit dot schmell ; but I held 
dot leeddle kat up close to me und klimb oud so kwick as I can. 

4. Ven I got oud in de parn yart, dere vas pig Chake 
Moser goin' py, und ven he seen me, he sait, "Sockery, you olt 
Deutch fool, vot are you doin' mit dot shkunk?" "Shkunk!" 
I sait, "I tought dot vas a leeddle kat," und I drop him so 
quick like he vas hot. 

5. Veil, Chake he laf like he vould kill himself, und I ask 
him vat I kin do to get me off dot shmell. He said dot de only 
ding vas to be perried in de ground till de earth absorp the 
shmell, und he sait he vould tig de hole und fix me in, if I vish ; 
veil, I dink dot is very goot of Chake, und I tought if I can 
get me dot shmell off before Katrina cooms home, I von't say 
any ding about dot leeddle kat to any poty. 

6. So Chake dig de hole, unt I sit down in it unt vas per- 
ried up to neck ; den Chake sait he vas in a hurry, und he must 
go to de willage, und he vent avay. Booty soon kwick a fly 
lite on my face, und I koodn't prush him off, cos my arms vas 
perried doo, und booty soon more as a hundret flies und effery 
ding vas krawl all ofer my het, und I shpit und plow und vink 
my face dill I dink I vas gone crazy. 

7. Bimepy I heart a noise doun the roat, und looked, und 
dere vas apoud efery man, vooman und shildren in de willage, 
mit shpades, mit bic-axes, mit shuffles, mit eferydings, und all 
runnin' rite ub de hill to my house ; in a minnit more as dwenty 
vas in der yart, und ven dey see me perried to de chin, und 
vinkin', und shpitten at dem flies, dere eyes shtuck oud more 



AXD SPEAKER 259 

as a half a feet, unci Dick Klaus sait, "Vot vos you doiri dere, 
Sockery?" 

8. Veil, I see dot dere vas no use drying to keep dot shtill, 
so I told 'em all aboud dot leeddle kat, und, my chimminy 
cracious ! you kood hear dem fellows laff more as a mile. 

9. You see dot fool of a Chake Moser run und told dem 
in de willage dot dere vas a man perried alive up to Kadacut's, 
so of course efery pody coom to git him oud. 

10. Veil, dey tig me oud, und I trow away dem clothes, 
und vash, und vash, but ven Katrina coom ad nide, I shmell so 
dot she mait me sleeb in de parn for a whole veek. 

11. I tink I shall moof avay ; eferypody vants to know if 
I vant to py a kat, und I don'd kan shtand dis much longer yet. 



"Don't be Tazin' Me: 

wade whipple. 



1. "I'm after axin', Biddy dear," 

And then he stopped awhile 
To fringe his words the merest mite 

With something of a smile — 
A smile that found its image 

In a face of beauteous mould, 
Whose liquid eyes were peeping 

From a broidery of gold. 

2. "I've come to ax ye, Biddy, dear, 

If" — then he stopped again, 
As if his heart had bubbled o'er 

And overflowed his brain ; 
His lips were twitching nervously 

O'er what they had to tell, 
And timed their quavers with the eyes 

That gently rose and fell. 

3. "I've come" — and then he took her hands 

And held them in his own — 
'To ax" — and then he watched the buds 
That on her cheeks had blown — 



260 brown's standard elocution 

"Me purty dear" — and then he heard 
The throbbing of her heart, 
That told how love had entered in 
And claimed its every part. 

4. "Och ! don't be tazin' me," said she, 

With just the faintest sigh. 
"I'm far from bloind ; I see you've come, 

But f hat's the reason why ?" 
"To ax" — and once again the tongue 

Forbade its sweets to tell— 
"To ax— if Mrs. Mulligan 

Has any pigs to sell?" 



An Evangel. 



1. The Lord alone with Peter walked one day 
Where bright Genesareth in sunshine lay; 
At that hour, when the sun had fiercest glare, 
They reached a cottage as they wandered, where, 
Before a doorway, ruinous and low, 

A fisher's widow sat, in garb of woe, 

Full of sad thoughts. Yet she forebore to weep, 

That she might spin her task and rock her babe to sleep. 

2. Not far away the Lord and Peter stood, 
Half hidden by a fig-tree in a wood. 

As they looked on unseen, along the road 
Came an old beggar staggering with a load, 
An earthen jar poised on his trembling head; 
He paused before the widow, and he said : 
"Woman, this milk has to be carried still 
A half-mile further over yonder hill; 
But, as you see, exhausted by the heat, 
I cannot get it to the village street ; 
And if I find no help, I lose to-day 
The penny I was promised as my pay." 



AND SPEAKER 261 

3. The widow rose. She neither spoke nor smiled, 
But dropped her distaff, ceased to lull her child, 
Raised the tall pitcher slowly on her head, 
Waived the man on, and followed in his tread. 

4. Then eager Peter spoke: ''Master," he said, 
' ' Tis right to succor those who need our aid ; 

But is this woman doing right to fly 
From house and child to help a passer-by? 
Doubtless the man need not have travelled far 
To find some idler who would bear his jar." 

5. Then the Lord looked on Peter: "Be thou sure, 
Whene'er a poor man helps a man more poor, 
My Father's care o'er his own home is thrown; 
She hath done well in that which she has done." 

6. As thus the Lord his servant's zeal restrained, 
He took the mother's place, and even deigned 
The distaff with His hands divine to ply, 

And rocked the restless babe, and sang its lullaby. 

7. Then rising when it slept, He waved His hand, 
And Peter followed at His mute command. 
When the poor woman reached her cabin bare — 
A home made rich by God's protecting care — 

She found — but never knew by whom 'twas done — 
That her baby slept, and that her flax was spun. 



How a Frenchman Entertained John Bull. 

1. In years bygone, before the famous Rockaway Pavilion 
was built, the Half-Way House, at Jamaica, Long Island, used 
to be filled with travelers to the sea-shore, who put up there, 
and visited the beach, either in their own or in hired vehicles, 
during the day. One warm summer evening, when the house 
was unusually crowded, an Englishman rode up in a gig and 
asked for accommodation for the night. The landlord replied 
that all his rooms were taken, and all his beds, except one, 



262 brown's standard elocution 

which was in a suite of rooms occupied by a French gentle- 
man. "If you and Monsieur can agree to room together,'' said 
the landlord, "there is an excellent vacant bed there. " 

2. The traveler replied, "No, I cannot sleep in the same 
room with any d — Frenchman/' and off he rode with all the 
grum looks of a real John Bull. 

3. In about half an hour, however, he came back, saying 
that as he could find no other lodgings, he believed he would 
have to accept the Frenchman as a room-mate. Meantime his 
first ill-natured remark had somehow reached the French 
gentleman's ears, and he resolved to pay off Johnny in his 
own coin. 

4. On being shown to the apartment, the Englishman 
stalked in, in his accustomed haughty manner, while the 
Frenchman, as is usual with his nation, rose and received him 
with smiles and bows — in short, he was more precisely polite 
than usual — sarcastically, so a keen observer would have 
thought. Not a word passed between the two, but soon the 
Englishman gave a pull at the bell-cord. The Frenchman 
quietly rose from his seat and gave the string two pulls. On 
the appearance of the waiter, Bull said : "Waiter, I want 
supper: order me a beefsteak, and a cup of tea." 

5. The Frenchman instantly said : "Vataire, ordaire two 
cup tea, and two bif steak; I want two suppaire!" 

6. Bull started and look grum, but said nothing. The 
Frenchman elevated his eyebrows and took a huge pinch of 
snuff. When supper was ready, the two sat down and ate for 
a while in silence, when the Englishman said : 

7. "Waiter, bring me a bottle of Burgundy." 

The waiter started on his errand, but before reaching the 
door, the Frenchman called to him : "Vataire, come back here ! 
you bring me two bottle Burgundy." 

8. Bull knit his brows : Monsieur elevated his, shrugged 
his shoulders, and took another pinch of snuff. The wine was 
brought, and while quaffing it the Englishman said : 

"Waiter, bring me an apple tart, and a what d'ye call it, 
there — a Charlotte-de-Russe." 

Monsieur then called to the waiter: "Bring me two of de 
apple tart, and two vat de diable you call him — Sh-Sh Sharlie- 
de-Ross." 



AND SPEAKER 263 

9. Bull's patience was now exhausted, and before the last 
order could be executed, he started from his seat and rang the 
bell. The Frenchman went to the string and gave it two 
violent pulls. The waiter (who was almost convulsed with 
laughter) came hurrying back, when Bull roared out: 

10. "Waiter, never mind the Charlotte-de-Russe ; bring 
me up a bootjack and a pair of slippers. " 

The Frenchman responded — "Vataire, you no mind to 
bring two of de Sharlie-de-Ross, but yo bring two slippaire, 
and two shack-boot." 

ii. Before there was time to bring these articles, Bull had 
thoroughly lost his temper, and when the waiter appeared with 
them, he thundered out : 

"Waiter, bring me a candle; and if you have no room in 
the house with a bed in it besides this, show me a settee, or a 
lounge, or a couple of chairs, or, in short, any place where 
I can rest in peace by myself." 

12. Monsieur instantly called out: "Stop, vataire: you 
sail bring me two candle, and if you have no room with two 
bed in him, you sail bring me two lounge, two settee, and two 
chair ! by gar, I vill rest in two pieces !" 

Bull could stand it no longer. He kicked the bootjack out 
of the way and made a rush for the door, banged his head in 
an attempt to open it, ran against the waiter at the head of the 
stairs, when both tumbled to the bottom, darted into the bar- 
room, paid his bill, and ordered up his horse and gig, swear- 
ing he would never sleep in the house with a mad Frenchman. 



The South During the Revolution, 
robert young hayne. 

1. If there be one State in the Union, Mr. President,— 
and I say it not in a boastful spirit, — that may challenge com- 
parison with any other for a uniform, zealous, ardent, uncal- 
culating devotion to the Union, that State is South Carolina. 

2. Sir, from the very commencement of the Revolution, 
up to this hour, there is no sacrifice, however great, she has 
not cheerfully made ; no service she has hesitated to perform. 



264 brown's standard elocution 

She has adhered to you, in your prosperity; but, in your ad- 
versity, she has clung to you, with more than filial affection. 

3. No matter what was the condition of her domestic 
affairs; though deprived of her resources, divided by parties, or 
surrounded with difficulties, the call of the country has been to 
her as the voice of God. Domestic discord ceased at the 
sound ; — every man became at once reconciled to his brethren ; 
and the sons of Carolina were all seen crowding together to 
the temple, bringing their gift to the altar of their common 
country. 

4. What, sir, was the conduct of the South, during the 
Revolution? Sir, I honor New England for her conduct in 
that glorious struggle. But great as is the praise which be- 
longs to her, I think, at least, equal honor is due to the South. 
They espoused the quarrel of their brethren, with a generous 
zeal, which did not suffer them to stop to calculate their inter- 
ests in the dispute. 

5. Favorites of the mother country, possessed of neither 
ships nor seamen, to create a commercial relationship, they 
might have found in their situation, a guarantee that their 
trade would be forever fostered and protected by Great Britain. 
But, trampling on all consideration, either of interest or of 
safety, they rush into the conflict; and fighting for principle, 
periled all in the sacred cause of freedom. 

6. Never were there exhibited in the history of the world, 
higher examples of noble daring, dreadful suffering, and heroic 
endurance than by the Whigs of Carolina during the Revolu- 
tion. The whole State, from the mountains to the sea, was 
overrun by an overwhelming force of the enemy. The fruits 
of industry perished on the spot where they were produced, or 
were consumed by the foe. The 'plains of Carolina' drank up 
the most precious blood of her citizens. Black and smoking 
ruins marked the places which had been the habitations of her 
children ! 

7. Driven from their homes into the gloomy and almost 
impenetrable swamps, — even there the spirit of liberty sur- 
vived; and South Carolina, sustained by the example of her 
Sumpters and her Marions, proved by her conduct that though 
her soil might be overrun, the spirit of her people was 
invincible ! 



AND SPEAKER 265 

Brutus on the Death of Caesar. 

william shakespeare. 

(Admirably adapted for drill in orotund quality.) 

1. Romans, countrymen and lovers! Hear me for my 
cause; and be silent, that you may hear. Believe me for mine 
honor ; and have respect to mine honor, that you may believe. 
Censure me in your wisdom ; and awake your senses, that you 
may the better judge. If there be any in this assembly, — any 
dear friend of Caesar's, — to him I say, that Brutus's love to 
Caesar was not less than his. 

2. If, then, that friend demand why Brutus rose against 
Caesar, this is my answer: Not that I loved Caesar less, but 
that I loved Rome more. Had you rather Caesar were living, 
and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free- 
men ? As Caesar loved me, I weep for him ; as he was fortun- 
ate, I rejoice at it; as he was valiant, I honor him; but as he 
was ambitious, I slew him. There are tears for his love, joy 
for his fortune, honor for his valor, and death for his ambition. 

3. Who is here so base, that would be a bondman? If 
any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude, 
that would not be Roman? If any, speak; for him have I 
offended. Who is here so vile, that will not love his country ? 
If any, speak, for him have I offended. I pause for a reply. 



4. None? Then none have I offended. I have done no 
more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus. The question of 
his death is enrolled in the Capitol, his glory not extenuated, 
wherein he was w r orthy; nor his offenses enforced, for which 
he suffered death. 

5. Here comes his body, mourned by Mark Antony, who, 
though he had no hand in his death, shall receive the benefit 
of his dying, — a place in the commonwealth ; as which of you 
shall not? With this I depart: — That as I slew my best lover 
for the good of Rome, I have the same dagger for myself, 
when it shall please my country to need my death. 



266 brown's standard elocution 

Evening at the Farm, 
j. t. trowbridge. 

1. Over the hill the farm-boy goes, 

His shadow lengthens along the land; 
A giant staff in a giant hand ; 
In the poplar-tree, above the spring, 
The katydid begins to sing ; 

The early dews are falling ; 
Into the stone-heap darts the mink : 
The swallows skim the river's brink ; 
When home to the woodland fly the crows, 
When over the hill the farm-boy goes, 
Cheerily calling, 

"Co' boss ! co' boss ! co' ! co' ! co' !" 
Farther, farther, over the hill, 
Faintly calling, calling still, 

"Co' boss ! co' boss ! co' ! co 5 ! co' !" 

2. Into the yard the farmer goes 

With grateful heart at the close of day; 
Harness and chain are hung away ; 
In the wagon-sheds stands yoke and plow ; 
The straw's in the stack, the hay in the mow, 

The cooling dews are falling ; 
The friendly sheep their welcome bleat, 
The pigs come grunting at his feet, 
And the whinnying mare her master knows 
When into the yard the farmer goes, 
His cattle calling, 

"Co' boss ! co' boss ! co' ! co' ! co' !" 
While still the cow-boy, far away, 
Goes seeking those that have gone astray, 

"Co' boss! co'boss!co'! co'! co'!" 

3. Now to her task the milkmaid goes ; 

The cattle come crowding through the gate, 
Lowing, pushing, little and great; 
About the trough, by the farm yard pump, 
The frolicsome yearlings frisk and jump, 
While the pleasant dews are falling; 



AND SPEAKER 267 

The new milch heifer is quick and .shy, 
But the old cow waits with tranquil eye, 
And the white stream into the bright pail flows 
When to her task the milkmaid goes, 
Soothingly calling, 

"So, boss! so, boss! so! so! so!" 
The cheerful milkmaid takes her stool, 
And sits and milks in the twilight cool, 

Saying, "So ! so, boss ! so ! so ?" 

4. To supper at last the farmer goes; 
The apples are pared, the paper read, 
The stories are told, then all to bed. 
Without, the cricket's ceaseless song 
Makes shrill the silence all night long; 
The heavy dews are falling ; 
The housewife's hand has turned the lock; 
Drowsily ticks the kitchen clock ; 
The household sinks to deep repose, 
But still in sleep the farm-boy goes, 
Singing, calling, 

"Co' boss ! co' boss ! co' ! co' ! go' !" 
And oft the milkmaid, in her dream, 
Drums in the pail with the flashing stream, 

Murmuring, "So, bossl so!" 



Flag of the Raixbow. 
thomas duxx english. 

Flag of the rainbow', and banner of stars, 

Emblem of light, and shield of the lowly, 
Never to droop while our soldiers and tars 
Rally to guard it from outrage unholy. 
Never may shame or misfortune attend it, 
Enmity sully, or treachery rend it, 
While but a man is alive to defend it: 
Flag of the rainbow, and banner of stars. 



268 brown's standard elocution 

Flag of a land where the people are free, 

Ever the breezes salute and caress it; 
Planted on earth, or afloat on the sea, 

Gallant men guard it, and fair women bless it. 
Fling out its folds o'er a country united, 
Warmed by the fires that our forefathers lighted, 
Refuge where down-trodden man is invited : 
Flag of the rainbow, and banner of stars. 

Flag that our sires gave in trust to their sons, 

Symbol and sign of a liberty glorious, 
While the grass grows and the clear water runs, 

Ever invincible, ever victorious. 
Long may it 'waken our pride and devotion, 
Rippling its colors in musical motion, 
First on the land, and supreme on the ocean : 
Flag of the rainbow, and banner of stars. 



Custer's Last Charge, 
frederick whittaker. 

1. "Dead! Is it possible? He, the bold rider, 

Custer, our hero, the first in the fight, 
Charming the bullets of yore to fly wider, 

Shunning our battle-king's ringlets of light ! 
Dead! our young chieftain, and dead all forsaken! 

No one to tell us the way of his fall ! 
Slain in the desert, and never to waken, 

Never, not even to victory's call !" 

2. Comrades, he's gone ; but ye need not be grieving. 

No, may my death be like his when I die ! 
No regrets wasted on words I am leaving, 

Falling with brave men and face to the sky. 
Death's but a journey, the greatest must take it: 

Fame is eternal, and better than all. 
Gold though the bowl be, 'tis fate that must break it. 

Glory can hallow the fragments that fall. 



AND SPEAKER 269 

3. Proud for his fame that last clay that he met them ! 

All the night long he had been on their track, 
Scorning their traps and the men that had set them, 

Wild for a charge that should never give back. 
There on the hill-top he halted and saw them, 

Lodges all loosened, and ready to fly. 
Hurrying scouts, with the tidings to awe them, 

Told of his coming before he was nigh. 

4. All the wide valley was full of their forces, 

Gathered to cover the lodges' retreat, 
Warriors running in haste to their horses. 

Thousands of enemies close to his feet ! 
Down in the valleys the ages had hollowed, 

There lay the Sitting Bull's camp for a prey ! 
Numbers ! What recked he ? What recked those who 
followed ? 

Men who had fought ten to one ere that day ? 

5. Out swept the squadrons, the fated three hundred, 

Into the battle-line steady and full; 
Then dow r n the hill-side exultingly thundered, 

Into the hordes of the Old Sitting Bull! 
Wild Ogalallah, Arapahoe, Cheyenne, 

Wild Horse's braves and the rest of their crew, 
Shrank from that charge like a herd from a lion. 

Then closed around the great hell of wild Sioux. 

6. Right to their center he charged, and then facing — 

Hark to those yells f and around them, oh, see ! 
Over the hill-tops the devils come racing, 

Coming as fast as the waves of the sea ! 
Red was the circle of fire about them : 

No hope of victory, no ray of light, 
Shot through that terrible black cloud without them, 

Brooding in death over Custer's last fight. 

7. Then, did he blench? Did he die like a craven, 

Begging those torturing fiends for his life? 
Was there a soldier who carried the Seven 
Flinched like a coward or fled from the strife? 



270 brown's standard elocution 

No, by the blood of our Custer, no quailing ! 

There in the midst of the devils they close, 
Hemmed in by thousands, but ever assailing, 

Fighting like tigers, all bayed amid foes ! 

8. Thicker and thicker the bullets came singing, 

Down go the horses and riders and all ; 
Swiftly the warriors round them were ringing, 

Circling like buzzards awaiting their fall. 
See the wild steeds of the mountain and prairie, 

Savage eyes gleaming from forests of mane; 
Quivering lances with pennons so airy ; 

War-painted warriors charging amain. 

9. Backward again and again they were driven, 

Shrinking to close with the lost little band. 
Never a cap that had worn the bright Seven 

Bow'd till its wearer was dead on the strand. 
Closer and closer the death-circle growing, 

Even the leader's voice, clarion clear, 
Rang out his words of encouragement glowing, 
"We can but die once, boys, but sell your lives dear \" 

10. Dearly they sold them, like Berserkers raging, 

Facing the death that encircled them round ; 
Death's bitter pangs by their vengeance assuaging, 

Marking their tracks by their dead on the ground. 
Comrades, our children shall yet tell their story, 

Custer's last charge on the Old Sitting Bull ; 
And ages shall swear that the cup of his glory 

Needed but that death to render it full. 



Nathan Hale, the Martyr Spy. 
isaac hinton brown. 

[After the disastrous defeat of the Americans on Long 
Island, Washington desired information respecting the British 
position and movements. Capt. Nathan Hale, but twenty-one 



AND SPEAKER 271 

years old, volunteered to procure the information. He was 
taken and hanged as a spy the day after his capture, Sept. 22, 
1776. His patriotic devotion, and brutal treatment received at 
the hands of his captors, have suggested the following.] 

1. Twas in the year that gave the Xation birth — 
A time when men esteemed the common good 

As greater weal than private gain. A battle fierce 
And obstinate had laid a thousand patriots low, 
And filled the people's hearts with gloom. 

2. Pursued like hunted deer, 

The crippled army fled ; and, yet, amid 

Disaster and defeat, the Nation's chosen chief 

Resolved his losses to retrieve. But not 

With armies disciplined and trained by years 

Of martial service, could he, this Fabian chief, 

Now hope to check the host's of Howe's victorious 

legions — 
These had he not. 

3. In stratagem the shrewder general 
Ofttimes o'ercomes his strong antagonist. 
To Washington a knowledge of the plans, 
Position, strength of England's force 
Must compensate for lack of numbers. 

4. He casts about for one who'd take his life 
In hand. Lo ! he stands before the chief. In face, 
A boy — in form, a man on whom the eye could rest 
In search of God's perfected handiwork, 

In culture, grace, and speech, reflecting all 
A mother's love could lavish on an only son. 

5. The chieftain's keen discerning eye 
Appraised the youth at his full worth, and saw 
In him those blending qualities that make 

The hero and the sage. He fain would save 
For nobler deeds a man whose presence marked 
A spirit born to lead. 



272 brown's standard elocution 

"Young man," he said with kindly air, 
"Your country and commander feel grateful that 
Such talents are offered in this darkening hour. 
Have you in reaching this resolve, considered well 
Your fitness, courage, strength, — the act, the risk, 
You undertake? Have you, in that fine balance, which 
Detects an atom on either beam, weighed well 
Your chances of escape 'gainst certain fate 
Should capture follow in the British camp ?" 

7. In tones of fitting modesty that well 
Became his years, the patriot answered thus : 

"My country's honor, safety, life, it ever was 
My highest purpose to defend : that country's foes 
Exultant sweep through ruined land and home 
And field. A thousand stricken hearts bewail 
The loss of those who late our standards bore — 
Appeal to us through weeping eyes whose tears 
We cannot brush away with words. The ranks 
Of those now cold in death are not replaced 
By living men. The hour demands a duty rare — 
Perhaps a sacrifice. If God and training in 
The schools have given me capacities 
This duty to perform, the danger of the enterprise 
Should not deter me from the act 
Whose issue makes our country free. In times 
Like these a Nation's life sometimes upon 
A single life depends. If mine be deemed 
« A fitting sacrifice, God grant a quick 
Deliverance." 

8. "Enough, go then, at once," the great 
Commander said: "May Heaven's guardian angels give 
You safe return. Adieu." 

9. Disguised with care, the hopeful captain crossed 
The bay, and moved through British camp 

Without discovery by troops or refugees. 
The enemy's full strength, in men, in stores, 
Munitions, guns, — all military accoutrements 



AND SPEAKER 273 

Were noted with exact precision ; while 
With graphic sketch, each trench and parapet, 
Casemated battery, magazine and every point 
Strategic, was drawn with artist's skill. 

10. The task complete, the spy with heart 
Elate, now sought an exit through the lines. 

Well might he feel a soldier's pride. An hour hence 
A waiting steed would bear him to his friends. 
His plans he'd lay before his honored chief; 
His single hand might turn the tide of war — 
His country yet be free. 

11. "Halt!" a British musket leveled at 
His head dimmed all the visions of his soul. 

A dash — an aimless shot ; — the spy bore down 

Upon the picket with a blow that else 

Had freed him from his clutch, but for a score 

Of troopers stationed near. In vain the struggle fierce 

And desperate — in vain demands to be released. 

A tory relative, for safety quartered in 

The British camp, would prove his truckling loyalty 

With kinsman's blood. A word — a look — 

A motion of the head, and he who'd dared 

So much in freedom's name was free no more. 

12. O, Judas, self-condemned! thou art 
But the type of many a trait'rous friend, 
Who ere and since thy time, betrayed to death 
A noble heart. Henceforth be doubly doomed — 
A base example to earth's weaker souls. 

13. Before Lord Howe the captive youth 
Was led. "Base dog !" the haughty general said, 

"Ignoble son of loyal sires ! you've played the spy 
Quite well I ween. The cunning skill wherewith 
You wrought these plans and charts might well adorn 
An honest man ; but in a rebel's hands they're vile 
And mischievous. If aught may palliate 
A traitor's act, attempted in his sovereign's camp. 
I bid you speak ere I pronounce your sentence." 



274 brown's standard elocution 

14. With tone and mien that hushed 
The buzzing noise of idle lackeys in the hall, 

The patriot thus replied : "You know my name — 

My rank; — my treach'rous kinsman made 

My purpose plain. I've nothing further of myself 

To tell beyond the charge of traitor to deny. 

The brand of spy I do accept without reproach ; 

But never since I've known the base ingratitude 

Of king to loyal subjects of his realm 

Has British rule been aught to me than barbarous 

Despotism which God and man abhor, and none 

But dastards fear to overthrow. 

15. For tyrant royalty your lordship represents 
I never breathed a loyal breath; and he 

Who calls me traitor seeks a pretext for a crime 
His trembling soul might well condemn." 

"I'll hear no more such prating cant," 
Said Howe, "Your crime's enough to hang a dozen men. 
Before to-morrow's sun goes down you'll swing 
'Twixt earth and heaven, that your countrymen 
May know a British Camp is dangerous ground 
For prowling spies. Away." 

16. In loathsome cell, deprived 

Of Holy Sacrament, and e'en the word of Him 
Who cheered the thief upon the cross, — refused 
The means wherewith he would indite his last 
Farewell to her who gave him life, 
And to another whose young heart 
To-morrow's work would shade in gloom, 
He passed the night in charge of one whom Satan had 
Commissioned hell's sharpest torments to inflict. 

17. Securely bound upon a cart, amid 

A speechless crowd, he stands beneath a strong 
Projecting limb, to which a rope with noose attached, 
Portends a tragic scene. He casts his eyes 
Upon the surging multitude. Clearly now 
His tones ring out as victors shout in triumph: 



AND SPEAKER 275 

18. "Alen, I do not die in vain. 

My humble death upon this tree will light anew 
The Torch of Liberty. A hundred hands to one 
Before will strike for country, home and God, 
And rill our ranks with men of faith in His 
Eternal plan to make this people free. 
A million prayers go up this day to free 
The land from blighting curse of tyrant's rule. 
Oppression's wrongs have reached Jehovah's throne : 
The God of vengeance smites the foe ! This land — 
This glorious land, — is free — is free ! 

"My friends, farewell, in dying thus 
I feel but one regret ; it is the one poor life 
I have to give in Freedom's cause." 



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Recitations, Speeches, Songs, Dialogues, and Exercises for 
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For Day=School, Sunday-School and General Use 

Humorous, Patriotic and Instructive Pieces in prose and verse. 



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? 3,000 vSFXRETS 

WoR THE HOME, FARM, LABORATORY, WORKSHOP 
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Pri celess Recipes 

A unique collection of tried formulas and simple methods. 
A Book of Recipes and Nothing but Redoes. 

NOT A COOK BOOK 



"4 handy and handsome 
Ittle industrial encyclope- 
dia." — Detroit Journal. 

'In "a one may learn to 
make a plaster, prepare ex- 
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shirt, etc., etc. , , . It has an 
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"A h^niiome little iFClomt 
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"It abounds in nsefui reci 
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— Current History. 



368 PAGES — 

Seven Leading Departments, each thoroughly indexed. Recipes fd! 

the druggist, the Chemist, Toilet Articles, the Household* 

the Farm and the Dairy, all Trades and Professions 

AS COflPLETE AS IT IS EXCELLENT 



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THE STANDARD 

DOMESTIC SCIENCE COOK BOOK 



By WILLIAM H. LEE and JENNIE A. HANSEY 




32 DEPARTMENTS 



ABOUT 1,400 RECIPES 

From Famous Chefs, Expert 

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100 Special Menus 

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Fruits, Melons and Nuts 



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536 pages, 



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THE DE AD CITY 

By GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO 



RENDERED INTO ENGLISH BY Prof. 
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FROM THE STAGE PRODUCTION OF 

ELEONORA DUSE 

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027 2113841 



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